Inertia
by Balexi
Summary: Senior Constable Santana Lopez is the newest recruit on the Strategic Response Squad. When she falls for the daughter of a known drug lord she finds herself conflicted. Her first major case with the SRS involves blackmail, conspiracy, kidnapping and murder. Santana soon finds she has several motivations to help bring the perpetrators down fast. Brittana AU, Santana Cop.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my very first fic.**

**Must acknowledge that I do not own Glee or the Glee characters, but the story itself and all OC's are 100% mine :)**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**INERTIA**

_The tendency of an object in motion to remain in motion,  
or an object at rest to remain at rest, unless acted upon by a force._

**Chapter 1: Ladykiller**

Santana pulled on black, low heeled biker boots over her skinny jeans and scanned the room quickly for her top. Noticing it crumpled in the far corner of the room she walked over, sniffing it as she picked it up. _Smells like musty carpet_, she thought. Shaking it out, she figured it looked too creased to wear and thought about the fact that she needed to make a decent first impression. Sighing in frustration she snuck over to the large, wooden dresser and quietly opened the top draw, cringing as if that would prevent the wooden from scraping against each other or creaking. Finding a white tank top she pulled it on over her sports-bra and headed out down the hall.

Bypassing the kitchen she went straight to the laundry and located a water spray bottle by the iron. She dampened her t-shirt before throwing it in the clothes dryer and hitting the 'wrinkle free' button. _Ten minutes should do it_, she thought. Santana was now thankful for the carpet, which muffled the sound of her boots as she walked back up the hallway and into the kitchen.

Finding an open box of grain breakfast bars in the pantry, she ate quickly and made herself a fairly average instant coffee. Conscious of the sound the kettle made as it boiled, she carefully slid the kitchen door closed and hoped she didn't wake anbody. Diluting the coffee with a significant amount of milk, she drank quickly and made her way to the bathroom retrieving the spare toothbrush from under the sink. As if on cue, the dryer cycle signalled its end with a loud beep, making Santana cringe, yet again, and hold her breath momentarily to hear whether or not it had caused anyone in the house to stir.

Proceeding with more caution, this time, Santana walked gingerly back towards the laundry to retrieve her top. Satisfied that it looked, and smelled, remotely better, she stretched it over her head, careful not to ruin the tight bun her hair was pulled back into, and headed towards the front door. She sighed as she paused outside Alice's bedroom door, hoping that the girl would still be asleep.

Pushing the door open warily, she was relieved to see the girl still face down in her bed, her black sheet barely covering her, still naked, body. Glancing at the time on her phone, she cursed herself silently, disappointed she hadn't left herself time for a run before work. Santana couldn't help the small smirk which formed on her face, though, when she concluded that her activities the previous night were enough of a work out for a good couple of days. Smiling, she quietly made her way over to the bed stand to write the girl a quick note. _'Have work, thanks for last night, talk soon - S'_. She placed the note on the cold pillow she had occupied earlier and grabbed her cropped, grey military style jacket and satchel before finally heading to the front door.

Had this been the first time, it would have easily been labelled 'the walk of shame', but with the frequency the walk occurred it had virtually become 'the routine of shame'. Santana breathed deeply into the cool morning air as she headed towards her car saying to herself, once again, _that was the last time_.

* * *

At the age of 24, Santana Lopez had overcome many things, but her nerves were something she still had little control over. She wore her faux confidence like a fancy dress costume, convincing everybody that she was someone she was not. The bitchy attitude and well perfected 'evil-eye' meant that most people were kept comfortably at arm's length and only got closer if Santana desired it. She rarely did. She had friends, plenty of them, but besides her two closest ones from High School, even those who knew her reasonably well had been fooled by her nonchalant, cocky facade.

She pulled her car into a space marked 'Reserved: Employees Only' and sat, gripping the steering wheel tightly as she took several long, calming breaths. It was Santana's first day as the newest member of the city's Strategic Response Squad. The SRS was made up of an elite group of police officers who were hand-picked to help deal with the higher end dramas experienced in the city. While regular officers were still called to a scene, they were often lead by a group of SRS officers when the stakes were high. Other cases were dealt with exclusively by the SRS when the Superintendent decided a particular case required a particular brand of discretion or higher brand of expertise. In the few short years the SRS had been in orperation, the general crime rate in the city had seen a rapid decline, with only the drug trade being an obvious barb in its side.

Breathing deeply again as the magnitude of her new job hit her all at once, Santana looked up at the old warehouse which would serve as her base for the next three months. _Minimum_. After a successful probationary period, the young Senior Constable would be offered a twelve month contract with the squad. At the conclusion of this she would be required to sit a full critique and evaluation before further employment was considered. First day nerves aside, Santana was confident she would be standing in the exact same position in twelve months time.

The nerves she was trying desperately to ward off had nothing to do with the job itself. Her confidence in that area was far from a show. She knew she was brilliant, anyone who had worked with her could not deny it, and her age and current position spoke volumes. Her concern lay with meeting her new colleagues, all of whom would be older than her and some of which would have less seniority.

At 6:30 am, she took in a long, last deep breath as she exited her car and headed for the large metal door at the side of the building. Swiping her key card, she paused briefly waiting to hear the door click to unlock and then proceeded to push her way in. _No turning back now_, she said to herself.

She walked up a steep flight of stairs, pausing briefly at the top to reacquaint herself with her surroundings, after her brief tour the week before. Entering the unisex locker room, along the corridor to her right, Santana made her way over to the locker she had been allocated. Turning the combination dial right, then left, then right again she unlocked it and couldn't hide the feeling of pride she felt at seeing her crisp, clean, new uniform folded on the upper shelf.

"We'll aren't you an eager _beaver_ Lopez. Trying to impress the Boss on day one, eh?" A burly, dark haired officer sneered at her from his locker on the opposite side of the room.

_Here we go_, Santana thought to herself as she paused briefly to take yet another deep breath before turning around.

"I don't believe we've met. Call me Santana." Her voice was steady and verging closer to matter-of-fact than polite. The man raised his eyebrows at her and his tight-lipped smirk made him look like a villain from a cheesy kids cartoon.

"I'll be calling you Lopez, but thanks very much, all the guys 'round here tend to use surnames." Santana was sickened by his self-satisfied demeanour and, even though they hadn't previously met, she suspected his name was Karofsky. Her conversation with Inspector Holliday had included colourful descriptions of each of her knew colleagues and while the man in front of her could have been Hudson, he didn't look nearly as dopey as the Inspector had implied. If this was Karofsky, Santana also knew that he was a Sergeant, placing him one ranking above hers. She offered a half smile before turning back to her locker, placing her satchel and jacket inside and retrieving her uniform. Santana made to head towards the female change room wing when she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Most of the guys just change out here, you know." His tone almost sounded threatening, but she sucked in another breath and tried to ignore the feeling.

"You're not hassling the new girl already are you Karofsky? Don't be a jerk." As her suspicions as to the man's identity were confrimed, Santana turned at the unfamiliar voice to find a blonde officer with shaggy, shoulder length hair opening the locker next to her own.

"Me, a jerk? Really Quinn? That's how you're going to speak to your favourite crew member in front of the new girl? I'm just explaining the way we do things around here." Santana almost laughed at the change in Karofsky's tone and body language at the arrival of the officer. Grabbing her own uniform, she approached Santana and placed an encouraging hand on her back, ushering her towards the change room. Once inside, they both dumped their freshly pressed clothes on the wooden bench behind the door and began to change.

"It's Santana, right? Santana Lopez?" She smiled as she spoke. In true Santana fashion she instantly began over thinking this interaction too, wondering if the smile was genuine. The girl looked secretive, seductive almost, and Santana shook her head briefly to remove any such thoughts from her mind.

"Yeah, I'm Santana." She offered her hand to the girl, giving a quick, firm shake.

"Quinn." The girl responded with an assured nod.

"What's your first name Quinn?" Santana asked casually, trying to make polite conversation as she removed her day old t-shirt and replaced it with a fresh navy blue one, followed by a royal blue button up shirt.

"I'm sorry?" The woman's tone changed significantly.

Santana looked up to see a confused, almost pained expression on the other girl's face. "My first name is Quinn, surname Fabray. Sergeant Fabray." The officer finished with a tone Santana couldn't quite read. _Was she being defensive?_

"Oh, I apologise, I just thought, you know, Quinn can also be a surname and Karofsky said all of you guys tend to go by surnames, so I assumed you were Somebody Quinn, rather than Quinn Somebody." Santana felt her face flush uncharacteristically. She was rambling. _Santana Lopez does not ramble_. _Come to think of it Santana Lopez does not apologise_. No wonder the phrase tasted strange on its way out.

"Santana, Karofsky would have said all of 'the guys' go by surnames around here. He was being a prick. He is a prick." She paused and let out a sigh. "The worst kind." Quinn shook her head slowly as she said those last words.

"What kind is the worst kind?" Santana asked, barely recognising her own meek tone.

"The 'in charge' kind, he's one of _your_ superiors and he's in _my_ SRV."

Santana knew, from her conversation with Inspector Holliday, the week prior, that there were two Strategic Response Vehicles as well as a number of regular cars at their disposal. She had been assigned SR 2 and Senior Sergeant Schuester was her 'go to' officer.

"Okay, so when Karofsky insisted he would be calling me Lopez, what the hell was that about." Santana was on edge and already feeling defensive before she had even heard an answer.

Quinn hesitated slightly before responding. "You kind of have a reputation Santana. It would have set Karofsky off. I told you. He's a prick." Her tone was almost sympathetic now.

When Quinn looked up to see Santana staring at her blankly she cursed herself, mentally, for having said anything at all. "You do know what I'm referring to don't you?"

Santana was now, both furious and, incredibly confused. She had hoped the only reputation she had come with was that she was brilliant at her job and far more competent than her years of service would suggest. She shook her head at Quinn's question and bent down to tie the laces on her black combat boots.

"Look, our guys talk to the regs down at the PD. A lot of them are drinking buddies, you know. Any reputation you had there is going to follow you here. Umm." Quinn thought for a moment about the best term to use, embarrassed that she had put herself and the new girl in this, rather awkward, position. "The call you... the ladykiller"

Santana's eyes shot up to meet Quinn who looked apologetic and quickly picked up her bag and other clothes before heading out to the main locker room.

Shaking her head, Santana hung her head in her hands briefly before thumping the wooden bench with her fist. _This can't be happening_. Ignoring the pain in her hand she picked up her discarded clothes and headed back to the locker room. If this was only day one, then the next three months were sure to be interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Going Down**

Morning briefing was set for 7 am. Present were all officers from both shift one, which had just begun, and shift three, which ended in an hour's time. The briefing was run by Inspector Holliday and also present was obvious computer geek come Intelligence Officer, Artie Abrams.

Santana was the last to appear at briefing and noticed the big hand had just arrived on the 12 as she eyed the clock above the Inspector. Glancing nervously around the room she spotted a vacant seat next to Quinn, but sitting there would mean she would be flanked, on the other side by Karofsky. _Fucking jerk_. Instead, Santana sat herself on the opposite side of the room beside a lanky Asian guy who immediately offered his hand.

"Mike." He whispered.

"Santana, pleased to meet you." She kept her voice low as well and was thankful for the first genuine, 'no-strings-attached', smile of the day.

"You too."

Both turned their attention to the front where Inspector Holliday was arranging a few post-it notes on the wall behind her.

"Alriiight SR Creeewww, how are we all doing this fine morning." The Inspector's jovial tone and bizarre intonation was something Santana felt should be reserved for a talk show host introducing their first guest or a rock star trying to rev up a crowded venue.

"Now, first things first, we need to welcome a new member today, let's give it up for Senior Constable Santanaaaa Lopezzzzzzz." Santana laughed out loud at the introduction as the rest of the SR crew applauded. _Definitely a circus ringmaster_, Santana thought as she eyed the tall, blonde Inspector.

"Okay, now you all need to be aware that Senior Constable Lopez comes to us with _quite_ a reputation." The Inspector began nodding her head at '_quite'_ and continued for a few seconds at the end of her sentence. In those few seconds Santana felt her face flush for the second time in the space of half an hour and stupidly stole a glance in Quinn's direction. Santana was confused by, what looked like an expression of frustration on the girl's face. She then found her gaze shift to Karofsky who was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"I personally hope that this is a reputation you intend to uphold at Strategic Response." Inspector Holliday finished this statement with an exaggerated wink and Santana felt a shiver down her spine as she wondered if there might be some kind of dual meaning there.

The Inspector continued. "This brilliant young officer is not only going to be an amazing asset to SR 2, but I think many of you will benefit from her skills, discipline and experience. Senior Constable, is there anything you would like to say at this point? The floor is all yours." This was followed by a dramatic flourish reminiscent of many a gift shop girl on television games shows.

Clearing her throat, Santana made an effort to speak with the assurance her colleagues would be certain to see from her out in the field. "I appreciate the introduction Inspector Holliday, I fully intend to maintain those high expectations and I know I will learn a great deal from each officer I have the opportunity to work with."

The members of the briefing room offered polite applause which Inspector Holliday waved off in order to get a quick response in. "Well we're certainly lucky to have you and _seriously_…", this word was spoken behind her hand like a poorly disguised secret, "…call me Holly. Holiday is a dirty word around here, you lot barely get a weekend, right." Holly grinned, nodding her head and making eye contact around the room as if to drum up support for her pun. _Clearly more of a stand-up comedian_.

"Righty-ho, let's get down to business. Abrams do yo thang."

"At this stage we have no further Intel on Hernandez versus the Irish, but make sure your SRV speakers and CommSys are switched on at all times because if we locate any info on a shipment or a meeting we will need all units on it ASAP." Santana nervously fiddled with the cord of her Communication System, rolling the ear piece between her thumb and forefinger and pressing the receiver on and off with her pinky.

"Um, Senior Constable," Santana froze at the arrogant tone Abrams had suddenly taken; aware it was directed towards her, but with no idea why. "Unless you are going for some elaborate Morse Code-esque communication style right now, I would appreciate you keeping your hands away from your CommSy." Santana raised an eyebrow at the wheel chair bound nerd, suddenly resentful of his bowl shaped haircut and Clark Kent glasses. Noticing that she appeared puzzled, he wheeled himself towards her and pointed behind her, signalling for her to look through the glass partition into his control room. She flinched as she felt him pressing the receiver on and off against her chest as she observed her own face appear on one of the electronic screens with the word 'INCOMING' appearing on every second push.

Unable to bring herself to apologise for the second time in one day, she settled for a nod of her head and a quiet "Gotcha" in recognition of his condescending demonstration.

As he wheeled himself back towards the front of the room Santana rolled her eyes and sighed. _Met four people, dislike three, weirded out by the boss...this Asian dude better be worth his salt_.

Abrams continued his breathy ramble on their current Intel which, Santana believed, could have been summarised in about four dot points on one of Holly's post-its.

The briefing concluded at exactly 7:30 am and as the group disbanded Holly insisted Shift 1 remain behind in order for her to do the rounds acquainting Santana with each of them.

She learned that Senior Sergeant Shannon Bieste headed up SR 1 which included Sergeant Dave Karofsky, Senior Constable Quinn Fabray and a tall dopey looking Constable by the name of Finn Hudson. SR 2 was headed, as she was aware, by Senior Sergeant William Schuester and included Sergeant Michael Chang. The final member of SR 2 was Senior Constable Lauren Zizes, who looked as though she'd be short of breath simply walking to their vehicle, but could probably kill someone in a headlock in five seconds flat. Santana smiled with relief that she had been placed with SR 2 and hoped the groupings were permanent.

* * *

Both SRV's had been patrolling their respective grids for just on four hours. SR 2 had stopped for coffee at 9:30 am, but with only a breakfast bar on board, Santana could feel her stomach turning over and knew it was only a matter of time before the whole car heard it rumble. Lauren had insisted Santana ride up front on day one to familiarise herself with the vehicle technology. She was aware that Strategic Response was a resource-heavy department, but Santana was in awe of the tools at her disposal. A Split screen SatNav showed their vehicle's position, as well as that of SR 1 and any other SR vehicle which was logged on in the field. A dual touch screen display allowed them access any files synced by Abrams back at the SRS warehouse while simultaneously displaying any surveillance camera footage Abrams could hack access to when the need arose.

Santana quickly learned that in many ways the SRS was above the law. They were the law. They were sanctioned to use anything and everything at their disposal if it could be justifiably used in the perpetuation of justice.

As they passed a Starbucks, Santana's stomach groaned audibly and without a word Mike circled the block and came to a halt outside the café.

"What'll it be? My shout." He offered Santana another of his sincere grins and batted her hand away as he saw her reaching for her wallet.

She settled for a plain bagel with mayonnaise instead of cream cheese and, after receiving orders from Will and Lauren in the back seat, Mike headed inside.

Tapping her fingers against the door frame Santana struck up a conversation with Lauren and Will about protocols.

"So can any of us drive the SRV or is it always Mike?"

"We share it around, Mike's the best in dicey situations where we rely on swift but controlled driving to get to a call."

"And I only drive when I have to." Will spoke flatly as he stared out the window and Santana turned, making eye contact with Lauren who quickly swiped her hand horizontally across her neck signally for her to drop the topic.

Santana could see Mike heading back towards their vehicle, two paper bags in hand, as her stomach groaned again.

Suddenly their CommSys buzzed against their chests as the vehicle's speakers beeped, followed by an announcement from Abrams.

"SR 1 and 2 immediate support required at the Park Street shopping complex, group of six teenagers terrorising staff and shoplifting, some may be armed. Call out response now." His voice still sounded breathy, but with more urgency and Santana unbuckled her seat belt and launched herself to the left buckling herself into the driver's seat and pressed the green speaker button just as a confused Mike jumped into the passenger seat.

"SR 2 responding, two minutes out." Without a second thought Santana shifted the vehicle into drive and turned on the emergency lights, avoiding the siren unless absolutely necessary.

Upon arrival at the shopping complex all four officers exited the vehicle and checked their CommSys, each pressing their ear pieces into their right ears. Santana opened up the vehicle's hatch and handed the other three their bulletproof vests before grabbing her own. Each then took a loaded handgun from the metal chest in the floor of the hatch and holstered their weapons.

"Come on Abrams, we need a location, we're parked in the East wing and heading inside now." Santana sensed some frustration in Lauren's tone, but didn't have the capacity to read into it as she felt adrenalin begin to surge throughout her body.

"They've just entered Barrenger's Department Store and they are on the Ground Level, Toy Department."

The three ran up the escalator from the car park and straight ahead into the Ground Level entrance of Barrenger's. Will indicated for Santana to go left, Lauren to go right and he motioned for Mike to continue straight ahead as he asked Abrams how far away back up was.

Santana walked briskly down the far left of the store and immediately saw two teenagers trying to intimidate a female staff member. Tapping her CommSy she informed her team "Two on the left."

Approaching the two with caution she heard Will's voice in her ear. "Copy that, I have two in the centre."

"Copy. Nothing here, moving left." Santana heard Lauren's voice in her ear piece as she saw the other officer round a large display cabinet and begin walking towards her. One of the teens was clearing out the cash register, while a second was holding a knife to another staff member.

"SR 1 on scene and they have two perps tied out the front of the store." Abrams announced.

Will took the lead, raising his gun and yelling "Police! Put down your weapons and get down on the ground, now."

Santana and Lauren had their weapons trained on the unarmed teens, one of which made eye contact with Santana and swiftly made a run for it through the centre of the store.

"I've got her." She yelled and holstered her weapon as she gave chase. Exiting the store she noticed the remaining members of SR 1 and yelled for Shannon, signalling the perp she was after. Shannon followed, running after her, but she was nearing the teen and grabbed the girl's hoodie, dragging her to the ground.

"Your day just got real bad sweetheart." She grinned smugly as she kept one hand on the back of the girl's neck and lifted herself up off the girl with her other hand and reached for a plastic tie to secure the girl's wrists.

Uniformed officers from the local precinct marched the six teens out of the complex as the SR crew headed back to their SRV's.

Mike took the driver's seat once again and handed Santana her lunch. "I think you've earned this."

She smiled and had the bagel unwrapped before they were even out of the car park. She opened it up, balancing it on her knees as she wrestled with the small packet of mayonnaise.

The SRS warehouse was only five minutes up the road and Santana had downed the bagel in 4.5.

Entering the locker room she removed her vest and felt a pat on the back from Shannon. "Not a bad first day." Santana smiled feeling proud as the Senior Sergeant headed out towards the vehicle bay.

Feeling a warm breath on the back of her neck she turned suddenly, only to be face to face with Karofsky. "Yeah, well done Lopez. Went down on a girl on the first day. Not bad. But you really need to learn to wipe your face after." With his signature smirk, he reached a finger towards her and touched her chin before she threw her fist against his hand. "Don't fucking touch me." Her pulse rate soared. Continuing to smirk he brought the offending finger to his mouth and licked the mayonnaise off before scoffing and walking away.

_Fucking disgusting_, she thought. The act left her feeling sick to her stomach and she suspected her anxiety was in anticipation of what had yet to come. Glancing towards the entrance she saw Quinn staring with the same disgusted look on her face, but the girl met Santana's gaze only briefly as she turned and walked the other way.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, this is my first fic - so please let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Caller ID**

Brittany struggled up the front steps with her arms full of groceries and shuffled some items up under her arm, as she searched blindly in her bag for the house keys. Giving up and groaning in frustration, she kicked her toe against the front door a few times hoping either Becky or Sugar would already be home.

To her relief, Becky opened the front door. To her frustration, Becky stood in the doorway looking at her without making any attempts to help.

"Are you quite right?" Becky raised an eyebrow in mock frustration.

Brittany pushed past the girl, calling out over her shoulder, "Would it hurt you to give me a hand?" She stood near the kitchen bench, unable to decide which item to put down where first. "I couldn't find my keys."

"Are you serious? Let me guess, you also lost your sunglasses at some point today?" Becky's previous expression had now turned smug and she was relishing in the confusion which had settled on Brittany's face.

"What...how did you..." her stammering was cut off by Becky reaching to untangle her key ring, which was looped around her finger. Brittany's eyes widened in disbelief as Becky held them up to her face, haughtily, and then proceeded to stand on the tips of her toes to grab the sunglasses off the taller girl's head. Slipping them on her own face, over her reading glasses, Becky stifled a giggle at the look on her housemate's face.

"You really make me feel like a genius sometimes." She laughed, reaching over to free several supermarket bags from Brittany's fingers.

Brittany allowed the rest of her load to sprawl across the bench and the two proceeded to pack the items away. "You totally are a genius, I'm so glad you're home. Why aren't you over with Beth though?"

She handed Becky a box of double choc pop tarts to put in the pantry and emptied a bag of apples into the fruit bowl on the end of the bench.

"Parent/Teacher conferences are tonight, so Puck got off work early. I got in three hours of Full House before you had to come home and interrupt me." Brittany turned, looking for the teasing smirk she knew she would see on the other girl's face.

Their friend Puck was a single dad who had lived next door to Becky his whole life. When Beth came along, Becky spent all her spare time there helping out and when he and his mother both had to work, he happily let Becky take on babysitting duties. Currently she had a regular gig walking, the now seven year old, Beth home from school and hanging out with her until Puck got home around 4:30 pm.

"You mean to say…you…watched…Uncle Jesse...without me." She choked out the words like a bad actress on a low budget soap opera, but it was enough to illicit a snort of amusement from the smaller girl.

Brittany put down the frozen items she'd been carrying to the freezer and stood to encircle her best friend in a tight hug, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"I've missed you this week Shorty. How about I throw some gourmet greasy food on an oven tray and we have a girl's night in?" She smiled seeing the wide grin spread across her friend's face.

"Full House?"

"Definitely Full House. You better not have already watched the one where DJ shoplifts the sweater after she left the one her Dad bought her to get ruined."

Becky's eyebrows shot up comically. "Well let's just say I didn't watch that one already."

Brittany playfully slapped Becky's arm with a packet of toilet rolls on her way to the bathroom. "You better make yourself useful then. Grab out the oven trays and ring Sugar to see if she'll be home for dinner."

Brittany had a quick shower, exhausted and sweaty from a full day of teaching and the added effort of dragging her feet around the grocery store to collect a few essential items. Pulling on a pair of fleecy trackies and a loose fitting t-shirt, she fished around in her bag for her mobile phone, realising she hadn't checked it all day. Two new text messages and eight missed calls. Brittany flopped onto her bed, leaning up on one elbow to read her messages and clear her missed calls list. One of the calls was from Becky's phone at 7:54 am. Brittany had made that call herself, hoping her phone wasn't on silent and she'd be able to locate it if she walked around with Becky's phone to her ear. Two missed calls were from Sugar, but each of these had been followed up by a text message, and the final five missed calls were all from a blocked number.

Feeling her wet hair dripping down her arm and onto the bed, she hopped up and headed back down towards the kitchen. She went via the linen cupboard to find a dry towel for her hair and, wrapping it up in a turban, she noticed the remaining groceries had been put away and the benches were clear. She also noticed that Becky had already arranged their dinner onto two oven trays and put them into the hot oven.

Brittany cringed. She hated reminding Becky of the rules and loathed feeling like she was treating the 25 year old like a child. "Becky, you know it's best if two of us are in the kitchen when we use the oven. You need to be super careful honey."

"Sorry Britt, I knew I'd be in trouble as soon as I did it, but then I thought it would be more unsafe if I took everything back out again." Even Brittany couldn't argue with that kind of logic.

"You know you're not in trouble Shorty, but it's my job to look out for you."

* * *

Becky managed very well for someone who was handicapable. Brittany and Sugar had moved in with Becky when her mother passed away, not long after they had graduated college together, and had tried to manage the household in a very similar way to Donna. Having lost her own mother a few years prior, Brittany knew that the impact such a tragedy would have on Becky would be huge. Up until the move, Brittany had been living with an Aunt, but when her Aunt gave birth to twins, the small house had become quite crowded.

She had been in the process of looking for her own apartment for a couple of weeks when a drunk driver had run a red light and collided with Donna's car. Becky's only living relative was her aging Grandmother, and while the older woman would have been a fabulous carer for Becky five years prior, she had begun struggling to look after herself. At Brittany's insistence, and with the backing of her Aunt and Sugar's Dad, the girls decided to move in with Becky and support her. While Becky was incredibly independent, a few house rules had remained in place to ensure everyone's safety.

* * *

"Oh Britt, Sugar will be late so it's just you and me for girl's night in." Becky appeared somewhat disappointed, but Brittany couldn't help wondering if it was about Sugar or if it had more to do with her little reminder about the oven.

"Don't tell Sugar I said this, but I'm kind of glad. I don't get you to myself much anymore." Becky wrapped her arms around Brittany, giving her friend a tight squeeze and then nudging her towards the lounge room saying she had the DVD all set up.

* * *

Brittany had met Becky on the first day of Year 1. Becky had been kept back a year, mainly because she was struggling with her speech, and she and Brittany had been placed at the same table. Brittany struggled to make sense of most of the school work she was given and, with low scores in both reading and number tests, she was continually placed in the lower groups in her class. Along with one of two other students, who found school a challenge, Becky and Brittany were always grouped together. They played together at break times and always sat together at mat time.

* * *

The two girls sat huddled together on the couch eating their dinner and chuckling whole-heartedly at their favourite show. When a set of headlights shone through their partly open curtains, an hour later, they knew Puck and Beth had arrived home.

"I'm going next door to drop some washing off, won't be long." Becky jumped off the couch and went over to pick up a small washing basket Brittany hadn't even noticed.

"Becky, please tell me he hasn't seriously got you doing his washing." Brittany rolled her eyes. Knowing Puck, as nice a guy as he was, he had probably managed to sweet talk his way into a good deal.

"F.Y.I the hose broke on their washing machine, Puck was replacing it today. I said I would wash Beth's things for school, but told Puck if he needed extra clothes he should go shopping!" Becky held the washing basket with one hand and held the other one out for Brittany to high-five.

"Genius!" Brittany grinned at the girl and reminded her to be careful walking down the front stairs with a basket in her hands.

"Yes Mum!" Becky chimed from the front door.

Brittany cleared their plates from the coffee table and made them both a drink and a snack, returning to the lounge room struggling to manage two glasses and a large bowl of popcorn.

As she collapsed back down on the couch she began massaging her neck, wincing each time she turned her head to the right. Her job was incredibly physically demanding, but Brittany had always been extremely fit. Most days were filled with back to back classes, teaching dance to groups of both children and adults. Several school groups would come to her studio throughout the week and the rest of her teaching schedule was spent working with adults. Any remaining hours in the day were spent working on choreography for anything from school plays to interstate productions.

Brittany allowed her head to lean against the back of the couch momentarily and she began to drift off, thinking about how many groups she would have through the studio tomorrow. She was shaken from her near slumber by an obnoxious buzzing noise vibrating against the coffee table. As she picked up her phone, she noticed it was a blocked number yet again. She let the phone ring out on her lap, wondering whether all the calls she had been getting were from the same number or if a few different people had been trying to get in touch with her and just happened to be extremely cautious about privacy.

Brittany thought back to when she was a kid and everyone answered the phone without any prior warning as to who might be at the other end of the line. Ever since Caller ID became a thing, Brittany was extremely reluctant to answer a call unless she knew who it was from. She was stirred from her thoughts by another buzzing coming from her lap. She stared at the phone for a long moment before picking it up, sliding it open and pressing the handset button. She said nothing, but held the phone to her ear. She could just make out the sound of someone breathing on the other end of the line. Not heavy breathing at all, just the sound of someone waiting for her to be the first one to break the silence. She had no intention of doing so and a moment later a beeping filled her ear as the other party ended the call. _Weird_, she thought to herself as Becky walked back through their front door and flopped on to couch, grinning at her.

"One more episode?"

"Sure thing."

Both girls grabbed a cushion to snuggle with and brought their feet up onto the couch. Brittany pulled the large grey blanket off the couch back and threw it over both their legs as Becky wrestled with the remote control, which clearly needed new batteries. Finally, after slapping the remote against the couch a few times, Becky managed to select the next episode. They relaxed onto the couch and neither girl noticed the pale blue light of Brittany's phone flashing on the coffee table. Each new flash revealing the word '_Blocked'_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Baggage  
**  
By the time Friday afternoon had arrived, Santana was completely exhausted and resented how the time appeared to be dragging on. Despite having a report to complete by the end of her shift, she could barely keep her eyes open. Staring at the whiteness of the screen in front of her was not helping.

Santana had gone home each night and counted her bruises. She had spent more than one evening soaking in the tub, trying to prevent stiffness from entering muscles; sore from overuse. She loved it. She loved directing all her energies into something physical. She loved being able to test her body and see how far she could push it and, more than anything, she loved being able to collapse into bed at the end of the night and fall asleep instantly. No time for thinking.

Glancing at the clock for the hundredth time, Santana gave herself a mental high-five. Only a half hour to go. Finishing her report at 4:50pm, she spent five minutes reading it over, checking for errors, and no time at all getting to her locker to collect her things. Her car drove itself home and Santana strongly considered sleeping in her car in the underground car park of her apartment block, convinced she'd never make it upstairs.

Having finally pried herself out of her vehicle, she slowly made her way to the apartment she shared with her two closest friends. Upon entering, she wilted instantly onto her bed, asleep before her head met with the covers.

* * *

Santana was awoken almost two hours later by the sound of laughter and banging coming from the kitchen. Reluctantly she dragged herself off the bed and walked over to the large, free-standing mirror in the corner of her room. Her olive skin seemed paler than usual and as she swept her long, dark hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head, she noticed the shadows which had formed under her eyes. She changed out of her top and jeans, throwing on a loose t-shirt and a pair of grey running shorts, the only things within arm's reach.

"Ah-oh, looks like someone's gon' need an intervention!" Mercedes was clearly at least three good drinks into her Friday night and the very thought of joining her made Santana's head hurt.

"I'll grab her legs, you grab her arms. Do you reckon we can get her in the shower?" Tina managed to deliver this sentence with only minimal disruption from the hiccups, a tell-tale sign that she, too, was well on her way. As the two girls approached Santana, arms outstretched, she couldn't tell if they were joking or not, but was very relieved to be engulfed in a double hug, instead of dragged off kicking and screaming.

"_We're_ going out tonight, and _you're_ coming with us!" Tina did not allow even a hint of enquiry to enter her tone, stating the plans as mere fact.

"Yeah, we're takin' you out to celebrate surviving your first week!" Mercedes' enthusiasm was sickening.

"Well thanks for starting my party without me then," she gestured to the bottles on the bench, "…and, surviving is a definite over-statement." The girls could tell from her grumpy, bitchy tone that Santana was going to take a lot of convincing.

"Come on," Mercedes nudged the Latina playfully. "We'll even take you to Heat." She sing-songed, as if her new tone would make the offer even more enticing.

Santana felt her eyebrows raise at the mentioning of her favourite club, but she also had an overwhelming urge to go straight back to bed.

"Carrie might be there." Tina suggested.

"Alex might be there." Mercedes chimed.

"Her name is Alice, and I hope she's not there to be honest. I promised myself I wouldn't go there again, I've been ignoring her texts all week." Santana began in a snappy tone, but then calmed down.

"Okay, good, so you're officially single, no strings attached. Who knows how many hot ladies will be out tonight? Oh, and by the way, the redhead who was here last Saturday morning," Mercedes paused, waiting for any sign of acknowledgement from Santana, "Her name was Alex." Mercedes' expression seemed to be a curios mix of amusement and disapproval. Santana cringed at forgetting about the redhead, but couldn't be bothered analysing which of Mercedes' two possible expressions had won out.

Finally accepting their pleas, Santana took herself to the shower and spent a long time letting the water wash away her sleep, even turning the mixer too cold to shock herself awake. She chose a very short, dark grey strapless dress, complete with three rows of black feathers which tickled the tops of her thighs. A pair of black strappy heels gave her a little extra height and her silky dark locks had been straightened, cascading around her shoulders. _Not bad, not bad at all_. Santana nodded at her reflection in the mirror, a satisfied smile on her face.

Both Mercedes and Tina were waiting for her in the living room, almost empty wine glasses in hand, and they shared a smile upon seeing their naturally stunning friend enter the room.

"Well SOMEone got enthusiastic! Seriously girl, those legs are a crime. Even my heart rate sped up as you walked in." Mercedes downed the rest of her wine as Tina and Santana threw their heads back with laughter. "Oh, like you didn't notice them too?" Mercedes wiggled her head at Tina as she spoke, and all three girls shared another laugh before grabbing their purses and heading out the door.

* * *

Santana had met both Tina and Mercedes in High School. Each of the girls were from very different circles originally, but were brought together when Ms. Corcoran held auditions for an all-girl show choir group. Eighteen girls auditioned and Tina, Mercedes and Santana made it in to the final twelve. Santana was the, stereotypically, bitchy head cheerleader, Mercedes was full diva, complete with regular dramatics and outbursts and Tina was a quiet, unassuming Goth chick who, despite her outlandish attire, didn't want to be noticed. Initially all three girls were extremely competitive for the major solos, but were often found sharing the spotlight as they were, clearly, the most talented within the group. Eventually the three found that they sounded incredible when they combined their amazing talents, winning over the judges at Regionals with their rendition of Florence + the Machine's 'Shake It Out'. The remaining nine Troubletones had joined in on their other two numbers, but everyone knew it was the unstoppable force of the trio which had ultimately won them the spot at Nationals. The three became virtually inseparable from this point on and had found an apartment together shortly after graduation.

The three had still maintained very separate interests over the years, but whenever they found a break between work and study schedules, they were always together. Tina was a Med student, and her bizarre hours were now making it difficult to arrange nights out very often in advance. Mercedes was one quarter of The Jumping Beans, a children's musical group who had their own TV Show and were in the process of planning a nationwide tour. The group included two of The Troubletons from High School, Marla and Kim and short, pixie-like diva from a rival show choir, named Rachel.

Santana knew that they needed to make the most of their opportunities to go out together as her shifts were bound to start changing soon and the time frame for The Jumping Beans tour was indefinite.

* * *

As soon as they arrived at the club Santana finally felt herself winding down from her insane first week of work. The beat of the music pulsated throughout her entire body, immediately finding a rhythm to her step and, smirking, narrowed her eyes slightly. This was going to be fun.

"Well, helloooo game-face." Tina grinned as she handed Santana a shot. "_That's_ what I like to see, now polish this one off so I can get you another and then we're going to dance."

Both girls threw back their shots, grimacing slightly at the strong taste, and slammed their glasses down. Tina held up two fingers indicating the barman pour them each another and Santana snatched up her second, followed quickly by Tina's and licked her lips, grinning widely at the look of shock on Tina's face. "Hey, I had to at least try to catch up, right?" Her gaze was apologetic and she even utilised her signature pout to win over the other girl.

"Fine." Tina shook her head, smiling as she grabbed Santana's hand and dragged her over to the raised dance floor where Mercedes was already lost in a strobe induced trance.

Heat was predominantly a gay dance bar, but it attracted an extremely diverse clientele, much to both Mercedes and Tina's delight. Both girls had found a different guy to cosy up to on the dance floor and, as per usual, Santana was revelling in the interest taken by a small group of girls who were all vying for her attention. Sandwiched between two gorgeous brunettes, Santana allowed her hands to roam the bodies pressed against her, devoting her time to them both equally.

Tina shuffled away from the dance floor, her body still pressed against her eager dance partner and the two found a booth in a far corner. Catching Mercedes' eye, Santana motioned towards the bar and ordered two Jägerbombs, slapping her hand down hard against the bar as she skulled it, finishing before her friend. Wordlessly, the two made their way back to the dance floor, ignoring their previous dancing partners, or groupies in Santana's case. The two laughed, enjoying the alcohol induced haze which was consuming them, while buzzing from their latest concoction.

Feeling the need arise for a more 'hands-on' dance experience, Santana began scanning the various girls who were scattered around her, many dancing for her attention. Her eyes locked on a blonde at the other end of the dance floor, swaying effortlessly to the beat and running her hands over the thighs of the girl glued behind her. Santana found herself staring as the blonde moved against the other girl, dipping low and slowly dragging her arse back up the girl's legs.

Santana felt herself flush from head to toe as the blonde met her gaze and smiled seductively, dipping low once again, but keeping her eyes trained on Santana as she moved her body back up slowly. Santana knew that, this time, that move was all for her and, feeling a familiar tightening in her lower stomach, couldn't bring herself to break the stare. She felt herself moving towards the girl, who had distanced herself slightly from her partner. Meeting halfway, the two took a moment to evaluate each other before the taller girl grabbed Santana by the hips and turned her around, her back now flush against the blonde's front. Feeling heat rise from her neck to her cheeks once more, Santana let the other girl take control of her body, her hand reaching back and tangling in long blonde hair as the taller girl's hands roamed over her thighs and through the feathers around the bottom of her dress.

Opening her eyes and catching Mercedes' wink of approval, Santana offered her friend a wink in return, mouthing the words _thank you_ to her before turning herself to face the blonde. She was just about to whisper something witty or sexy in the taller girl's ear when she was interrupted by someone grabbing her shoulder. Turning in frustration, she groaned outwardly upon seeing the furious face of Alice standing before her.

"What the fuck?" The shorter girl yelled so loudly that Santana did not need to lip read. "Is this the reason you haven't called?" She motioned a hand towards the tall girl in disgust.

Knowing Alice, as she did, Santana was aware the feisty brunette would not back down, especially when she had been drinking. She offered an apologetic _sorry_ to the gorgeous blonde, taking a moment to stare into pale blue eyes, for the first time, before storming out of the club with Alice at her heels.

The cold night air felt like ice against Santana's barely covered flesh, but she was fuming with both resentment and humiliation from Alice's outburst.

"What the fuck is your problem? You had no right!" Her dark eyes flashed menacingly at the shorter girl who flinched as she spat the words at her.

"I-I-Santana I text and tried to call you all week. Why haven't you returned my messages?" The girl was slurring her words slightly.

"Alice, this," she motioned a hand between them, "…it's not a thing, okay. We talked about this. You said you understood." Santana wrapped her arms around her chest in an effort to stay warm. Alice, seeing goose bumps appearing on the smooth tanned skin before her, moved forward, ready to embrace the girl. Santana raised both hands, quickly, in an effort to avoid the hug. "Don't! Don't touch me!" Her tone was harsh and she knew it, but all she wanted was to get back inside and resume dancing with the leggy blonde.

"But, Santana-I-you, I thought, you said _talk soon_, I thought you were going to call, I thought…"

Santana cut her off, raising her hand as she closed her eyes momentarily and shook her head. "Alice, it's over, okay. I'm not going to call. You needs to lose my number." Without hesitation, Santana turned and walked up the stairs to club. She didn't look back.

Feeling the musty heat hit her as she passed the dance floor, her eyes darted around the whole club, searching for the girl who had captivated her attention only minutes before. Walking determinedly she paced backwards and forwards twice before giving up and finding Mercedes and Tina in a booth off to the right of the dance floor.

"Why the fuck did _she_ have to be here?" Santana picked up a half-finished drink from the table and emptied it.

"It doesn't matter _why _she was here, what matters is _why_ she reacted like that." Mercedes didn't need to elaborate any further for Santana to understand what she was getting at.

She knew it was all her fault.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews ****I hope people are enjoying the way this story is beginning to unfold.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Pale Blue Eyes**

Santana turned into a reserved parking space outside the warehouse on Monday and scoffed audibly at the version of herself, one week prior, who had been nervous as hell. After a, much needed, restful weekend with her girls, Santana walked into the SRS building with an enthusiasm she hadn't felt in a long time. In a rare change of character, Santana also had a positive outlook about her missed opportunity with the striking blonde from Friday night. Having spent close to 24 hours fuming about the situation, she reasoned that she would simply go back to Heat again on Friday night, and Saturday if she had to, in the hopes that she would see her again. _Hope_, she scoffed at herself once more, too much optimism made her sick. _I must be losing it_.

Santana now exuded a confidence at work that anyone else, who knew her well, would recognise as the very essence of Santana Lopez. She quickly worked out the pecking order, including the fact that Will Schuester was team leader in title only. Having lost the plot after his wife died in a car accident, Lauren Zizes had stepped up to become honorary team leader and had an unwritten agreement with Holly to pull rank whenever he zoned out.

Karofsky was Santana's only real issue now. A dirty mark that you try to rub off, only to find it's a bruise you were unaware of and, you realise, it is quite sensitive to the touch. The only feeling of inadequacy, brought on by her first week of work, was her nerves. Karofsky didn't make her nervous. He made her more irate with each breath he took, but she was determined not to give him the satisfaction of knowing this.

* * *

He had made another snide remark to her on Wednesday. Quinn had dropped her ring into the grate in the cement floor of the locker room while trying to transfer it from her necklace and back to her finger. Santana quizzed the girl about it when she appeared panicked; asking if it was a wedding band, an engagement ring or a family heirloom. The girl initially appeared confused, unable to maintain eye contact with Santana, finally replying that it was a promise ring. Santana was mildly intrigued but, noting her bizarre expression, didn't ask her to elaborate.

Karofsky walked in as Santana leant over the grate to assist Quinn.

"Let me try, my hands are smaller." Grasping the ring between two fingers, she held it out to Quinn as he laughed sarcastically at the joke which had yet to spill from his mouth.

"I bet that dexterity comes in handy when you _help out_ all the ladies, hey Lopez?" This time Santana wasn't even going to acknowledge his comment but, glancing at Quinn, she noticed that the blonde girl was blushing furiously and assumed the comment had made her uncomfortable. This was the last thing Santana needed, more odd tension between her and Quinn. It had taken them a day and a half to move on from the weirdness that was Quinn calling Santana out on being a player. She did not need her sexuality to continually be being thrown back in her face, at work, when she had always prided herself in being the consummate professional.

* * *

Santana changed into her uniform, rolling the sleeves of her royal blue shirt to her elbows as she walked into briefing. Unrushed, she seated herself comfortably near the front and checked her email on her phone while she waited for the others.

Mike and Quinn walked in after her, deep in conversation about some sporting match over the weekend. Santana offered them both a smile and turned back to her phone. Lauren strutted in next and plonked herself down next to Santana, giving her a playful punch on the shoulder. "Thought you'd try us on for another week, eh?"

Santana had taken a real liking to the girl. This was unusual in itself; Santana Lopez didn't _take a liking_ to many people unless it meant she would be relieving them of their clothes later. The friends she had, she'd made mostly by accident. She felt that Lauren could well be the first friend she might try to make on purpose. She liked the girl's attitude and her confidence. They had both of those things in common and, perhaps, they also shared an understanding that there was one aspect of each of their lives that caused some people to judge them harshly. Something they couldn't change. Something which had been the driving force behind their attitudes to begin with.

"You've got one more week to prove yourself worthy of my presence, or I'm out." Her look of mock arrogance quickly gave way to a grin and the two fell comfortably into a conversation about Lauren's expertise with technology. Santana had so many questions about the equipment available for their use, that neither noticed the briefing room emptying, or Holly standing at the doorway beckoning them with dramatic arm gestures.

"Yo, Lozza and S-Lo, Artie wants us in the control room. Bunch of intel on Flanagan vs. Hernandez.

* * *

Martin Flanagan had recently come to the attention of the SRS after a drive-by shooting in which his son, 24 year old Rory Flanagan, was killed. What could have initially looked like a random act of violence, in which the young victim was in the wrong place at the wrong time, soon began to raise red flags in files which had remained dormant for some time.

Between Artie's superior skill in manipulating any and all technological resouces, and Lauren's exceptional programming abilities, anything that could be found out about the victim, and in turn his family, would.

Rory Flanagan had been returning from a late night trip to the local 7/11 when he was killed by a single gunshot from a slow moving vehicle which, witnesses later said, had been parked across the street from the store for some time. The vehicle sped away from the scene, but not before the store owner was able to get a read on the licence plate. Unfortunately the vehicle turned out to be a rental and the ID used to rent the vehicle belonged to an elderly man who had passed away three months prior. Dead End. Literally.

Three days later, however, an undercover officer made contact with information that the group he had successfully infiltrated, kept making cryptic references to success at having 'fucked the Irish'. Background checks were quickly performed on the Flanagan family, with Rory and two of his older half-brothers coming up clean. Martin Flanagan, though, had previously served jail time for drug possession and distribution and his eldest two sons had a string of charges against them, all relating to drugs and violence.

With suspicion now mounting that Ernesto 'Ernie' Hernandez might be referring to the Flanagan's as the Irish he had 'fucked', Artie and a selection of officers had been working overtime trying to find a tangible connection between the two. Thus far, Dead End.

* * *

Lauren and Santana side-stepped their way around the control room until they had a clear view of the myriad of flashing screens in front of Artie. Santana noted that the Intelligence Officer was fidgeting and jumpy; a sure sign that he was excited about his impending revelation.

"Okay, we're all systems go today crew. Overnight there was a stabbing in the laneway outside the Falls Avenue bottle shop. The victim was found with a total of twelve stab wounds and on his forearm he was sporting a freshly applied press-on tattoo of a four leaf clover with the words 'Luck of the Irish' underneath."

Santana stifled a giggle at the lack of subtlety, receiving a glare from Artie who was trying to get his breath back after delivering part one of his speech without having inhaled.

"The victim was Felipe Hernandez, nephew of Ernie. This is clearly a retaliation killing and we expect chaos to ensue." While the geek pushed his heavy, black rimmed glasses back up his nose, Holly stepped up to take over.

"Thanks Wheels. Alright so today we hit the ground running. We need statements, we need alibis, well actually we need confessions, but that's _probably_ not going to happen." Santana was disturbed by the playful tone in the woman's voice, considering the circumstances.

"Any-who, today we steer well clear of the Grand Hernad-I and we focus on the leprechauns. I want you all heading out in pairs, bringing in each of the Flanagan boys for questioning."

Santana scanned the room looking at the blank faces of her colleagues. She couldn't help the excited buzz that was building inside her. This thing could be huge and none of them appeared, outwardly, to be feeling the way she was. Taking out her notepad and pen, Santana listed down each pair of officers and which Flanagan they were to bring in.

Lauren and Will were headed to pick up Patrick Flanagan, 42, eldest son of Martin Flanagan. Karofsky and Quinn had been assigned 36 year old Dermot Flanagan, and Shannon and Hudson were in charge of bringing in Billie Flanagan, age 34. Martin Flanagan's second eldest son was presently doing time for sexual assault and Holly had decided that 39 year old Niam Flanagan could be questioned at a later time. Priority two.

"So Santana and I are going after the man himself then?" Mike asked confidently, puffing out his chest in pride and sharing a grin with Santana. Glancing back at her notepad she went through all the details Holly had mentioned and double checked names and ages with the info on Artie's screen, before looking back at her notes and adding a few more details.

"No, sorry guys, I've called in the big guns on that one. Superintendent Sylvester and I will be picking him up, _personally_. No, you both have an obscure one to check out for me. Seems old Flanny has a daughter among all this testosterone. One Brittany Pierce. Girl has her mother's surname, has had questionable involvement with the father and we need to know more."

"How old's the girl?" Santana spoke without once looking up from her page, trying to get Holly's words verbatim on the Pierce girl, as _her_ details were most pertinent.

"She is 24 years old, and we have a residential and a business address. I suggest you check out the business address first and," Santana heard Holly's voice change back to its ridiculously playful tone once more, "…can I just say, this one's a looker!"

A few of her colleagues snorted, Hudson hummed in agreement and she heard Mike sigh. Glancing first at Mike, she let out a breathy laugh at the look on his face before turning her attention to the big screen.

Santana felt as though someone had just poured ice water down her back and felt her eyes widen as she leant forward, focussing on the drivers licence ID photo of the girl before her. She looked from the name on the ID, back to her notes and up at the picture again. Santana felt a weight settle in the pit of her stomach, finding it difficult to break her gaze from the all too familiar pale blue eyes of the blonde girl.

"Well it looks like that one's got the old Lopez _stamp_," Karofsky punctuated this word with a thrust of his groin, "… of approval." He snickered as he walked backwards out of the room.

Santana's skin was crawling and, this time, Karofsky was only part of the reason.

**A/N: Hi- really hoping for some reviews after this one. Brittany's POV to come next and this will be a pattern throughout: two Santana, followed by one Brittany. Let me know what you think.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: FaceTime **

Brittany and Sugar opened the studio at 8:30 am, turning on the switch by the door and watching as florescent light filled the open space at the front of the building. With classes not starting until 10 am on a Monday, both women had decided to get a head start on some paper work and planning.

The studio housed two teaching rooms, a large warm-up area, an office space, change rooms, a toilet block and a kitchenette. Sugar worked out of the main reception area. With a lighter teaching load she took care of the books and the majority of the admin for the studio. Adjacent to the large warm up area was Brittany's office. Brittany had to plan for almost twenty classes per week and around this she managed to fit in work on bigger projects. Her present commitment was to Jane Adams Academy, who had requested her assistance to choreograph their production of _Chicago_.

The studio was having to turn down clients and Brittany, regretfully, decided she could only take on one outside project per semester and, presently, she was booked up well into the following year. Both women were incredibly popular with their students, and it was this rapport that had helped them build up their client base so quickly when they were just starting out.

* * *

When the girls graduated High School, Sugar's father agreed to finance the dance studio for them if they both agreed to take classes in Business Management in order to keep the studio in operation. After three years working part-time and studying at night, both Sugar and Brittany had a diploma in Small Business Management and a reputation which soon guaranteed them both full-time work. Around the same time, Brittany's 21st birthday signalled the release of her trust fund. Using the money her mother had left her, she was able to comfortably buy out half of the company, making her Al Motta's business partner. Sugar, however, took on this honorary title.

_SpinFlex Dance Studio_ was able to offer beginners classes in tap, jazz and ballet, courtesy of Sugar and Brittany taught Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Hip-hop, covering all elements of the genre. When the business began to take off, the two discussed selling up and looking for a larger venue. They even considered employing some other instructors. After much consideration, however, they decided that a small establishment with too much work was preferable to a large establishment without enough, and were content to remain as they were.

* * *

Sugar was making coffee in the kitchenette behind the reception area as Brittany checked her schedule and organised her planning folders for the day ahead. From the large window in her office she could see two police officers standing in the reception area, facing away. They weren't dressed in quite the same uniforms as regular cops. Navy blue cargo pants tucked into black combat boots, royal blue shirts and black bulletproof vests which appeared to house most of the gear other cops wore around their waist on their duty belts.

Brittany's first thought was that there must have been a break-in nearby and she immediately opened the cupboard behind her desk to check the safe. Everything was accounted for. _Maybe there had been a much worse crime and they'd sent special cops to deal with it_. Mild panic set in at the thought.

When she stood back up she saw Sugar talking to the male officer, but the female who had been with him was nowhere to be seen. Noticing confusion on Sugar's face, she wandered out of her office, curious to know what the issue was.

"Hello." Brittany offered her hand to the Asian man. "I'm Brittany Pierce, Miss Motta's business partner. How can we help you Officer?"

"I'm Sergeant Chang, nice to meet you Miss Peirce. Myself and Senior Constable Lopez," he motioned to the female officer outside the building who was on the phone, her back to them, "…would actually like to speak with you regarding a case we are investigating at the moment. We understand you may be able to provide us with some background information that could help us. Senior Constable Lopez is just making a quick phone call, but then if we could speak privately?" Sergeant Chang glanced around and Brittany motioned towards her office as she glimpsed the female officer through the window. Brittany felt her stomach drop and she immediately began playing with the hem of her shirt. _It couldn't be her, surely_.

"Miss Pierce?" Sergeant Chang waved his hand in front of her face. "Could we use your office please?"

"S-sure. Go right ahead, I'll be with you in a minute." Brittany motioned towards her office door and quickly circled the reception desk, pulling Sugar into the kitchenette.

"This cannot be happening." Brittany covered her eyes with her palms and then opened them slightly in order to see Sugar.

"What? Are you in some kind of trouble?" Sugar's face dropped with genuine concern.

Brittany nodded. "I think I might be. Big trouble." She inhaled deeply and released the breath slowly with pursed lips a couple of times in an effort to calm the nerves which were dancing in her stomach.

"Britt. What's going on? What have you done?" Sugar's tone was almost frantic now and Brittany realised that Sugar must be worried she was actually in genuine trouble with the law.

"No, no, no. Not that kind of trouble. That's Shay Mitchell." Brittany pointed to Senior Constable Lopez, who was still talking on the phone, looking agitated.

"Alright. You've done it. Officially. You've lost the plot." Sugar began to wander off. "I knew this would happen, it was only a matter of time before…"

Brittany cut her off, grabbing the girl's arm and turning her back towards her. "Not _The_ Shay Mitchell, her look alike from the club the other night. Remember? The one I was _dancing_ with!" Brittany lowered her voice to almost a whisper, gritting her teeth as she emphasised the word, and watched as Sugar's eyes widened with understanding.

"Oh shit! You're fucked then." Sugar stated in a matter of fact tone and stood, eyebrows raised as the officer began to head inside.

"Oh God, Oh no. Do you think she knows already? Do you think she'll remember me?" Brittany rambled, straining to see the officer from the corner of her eye without turning her head.

Brittany could see the woman appeared tense, playing with a ring on her right hand. _The girlfriend_. Brittany rolled her eyes remembering how their _dancing_ had ended on Friday night. Taking a deep breath she walked out of the kitchenette and around the reception desk.

"Hi." Brittany wiped her palm unceremoniously on her shirt before offering it to the cop. "I'm Brittany Pierce, Senior Constable, we've not been formally introduced but…"

"We've met." The officer smiled almost bashfully in agreement, nodding her head at Brittany.

"Yeah," Brittany's brow creased, unsure of what to make of the incredibly gorgeous woman before her, "I wasn't sure if you'd remember."

The Officer nodded her head slowly, a tight lipped smile on her face, and simply said "I do."

"Shall we?" Brittany motioned towards her office, allowing the Senior Constable to go on ahead of her. Cheekily, she paused for a short moment to appreciate the stunning form in front of her and stole a glance back at Sugar, wiggling her eyebrows.

Once seated, Brittany felt a tension in the room which she could not name, and suddenly felt very apprehensive about the pending conversation.

"Miss Pierce," the female officer began, clearing her throat, "…we are here today to see if you have any information which may give us any insight into Martin Flanagan." She paused, waiting for some sign of recognition in the girl. "Your father?"

"Is that a question Senior Constable? Are you asking if he is my father, because I get the impression you already know the answer to that." Brittany could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

"Forgive us for intruding Miss Pierce, but your father is a major person of interest in a number of unsolved crimes at present and our superiors feel any background information we could gather on him or your brothers could assist us greatly." Sergeant Chang leant back in his chair, giving Brittany his full attention.

"I'm not sure that I'll be much help to you at all. Biologically the man is my father, but that's where our connection ends, I'm afraid. My mother left him when I was one, three weeks after my first birthday. She found out that he had been cheating on her for some time and just left. She'd been aware of his issues with drugs for a while and one of the older boys was in jail, so when she found this out, she had no reason to stay. I don't really remember him or the boys. My mother destroyed all but one photo and I got the impression that he wasn't really around that much." Brittany sighed, calming down somewhat, but feeling a sadness creep across her chest as she thought of her mother.

"So your mother didn't keep in touch with the boys then?" Senior Constable Lopez spoke again.

"She always said that the only one she missed was Billie. He was only about 11 when we left and she worried that he was going to turn out just like the other three. She wasn't that much older than Patrick and she said he'd always made her feel a bit uncomfortable." Seeing the confused looks on the faces of the two officers, she continued. "You are aware they're my half-brothers, right? I was my mother's only child."

"Oh, well that makes sense then, but what about Rory?" Sergeant Chang glanced back down at his notes while he waited for Brittany to respond.

Brittany went over the names of the boys in her head. _Patrick, Dermot, Neil and – no, that's not it. Patrick, Niam, Dermot and Billie._ "None of the boys were named Rory. Is he a cousin or something?"

The two officers looked at each other, puzzled. "Rory was 24 years of age. He was your age. We- I just assumed he was your twin or something." The Senior Constable looked confused.

"Well, let's go with the 'or something' option. If Martin had another kid my age, then I guess it was no hasty decision on my mother's part to get out when she did." Brittany shook her head. She felt sorry that her mother had had to endure all of the grief that man put her through, but she had zero emotional connection to him or the brothers. The ones she knew about.

"So you've had no contact with Martin since you were a baby then?" Sergeant Chang clarified.

"Correct."

"And what about your mother, has she have had any further contact with him?" He scribbled away with his pen, appearing to be writing down far more than Brittany was saying.

"With all due respect, what _do_ you guys know? I would have expected with your fancy uniforms that you may have had a little bit more information to go on before coming to see me." Brittany's tone was polite, a mere query which, from anyone else could have sounded offensive.

The officers looked at each other, and then back at Brittany, both appearing unsure of how to respond.

"My mother died over 10 years ago. I lived with my Aunt from the age of 12. My mother's sister. I'm really not sure if she was ever in contact with Martin after they divorced but, honestly, I would have been too young to know. She wouldn't have discussed it with me. Perhaps you should speak with my Aunt, but I'm not sure how much good that would do you now."

Again, the officers exchanged a glance and this time Senior Constable Lopez spoke up.

"We're very sorry to hear of your loss Miss Pierce and I apologise for our intrusion in coming here today. I'm sure you can understand that we are desperate for any leads in such a situation, but it was remiss of us to come here today with such little information on board. If you do happen to think of any details which may be relevant, please contact us. This is my card," Brittany was certain she saw the officer's eyes sparkle momentarily at this offer, "… and if we have anything more specific to ask you in future, one of us will send a message to ensure you are forewarned." She offered Brittany a sincere smile. The tension, from earlier in the meeting, almost gone.

Brittany retrieved one of her own business cards from her desk and handed it to the officer.

"Or you could call me." Brittany's tone was neutral, but she could not help the smirk which played on her lips.

"I'm sorry?" The officer appeared flustered looking pointedly between Brittany and Sergeant Chang.

"If you need to speak with me again, you could call me. I prefer to actually speak with people when I interact with them." Brittany was focusing on the female officer and barely noticed when Sergeant Chang moved from his seat and towards the door to take a phone call. Covering the mouth piece he addressed his partner. "It's Holly, I'll take this and meet you in the car."

The female officer nodded and turned her attention back to Brittany, who immediately felt self-conscious now that they were alone.

"So you prefer the more traditional methods of communication then. I guess that would explain why you're still carrying around that old phone." She raised her eyebrows, pointing to the desk in front of her, and Brittany smiled at the change in the woman's tone.

"That, and I can barely turn on a computer, let alone an iPhone. I find too many buttons confusing." She was exaggerating slightly, but wanted to keep talking to the officer who let out a small chuckle in response.

"You know if you prefer the 'old fashioned' style of communication," she raised her fingers making air quotes above her head, "…you'd probably really appreciate some of technology's developments, like FaceTime."

"What's FaceTime?"

"Well, if I called you using FaceTime, assuming you had a different phone to that one, we'd be able to see each other as we spoke." The officer had a self-satisfied grin on her face and Brittany was certain, this time, that she was flirting.

"If I want some 'FaceTime'," Brittany used air quotes now, "…with you Senior Constable Lopez, I'll just come down to the station." She couldn't hide the grin on her face as she walked the officer out of the small room and back to the reception area. All thoughts of the crazed girlfriend, from Friday night, had floated into oblivion.

Feeling bold, she reached out her hand to the woman. "I'm glad I was able to see you again." Her hand shake was light and she knew she held on slightly longer than necessary. "I'm only sorry that this was a formal matter."

She saw the officer swallow deeply and she nodded her head, first at Brittany and then Sugar, who was standing at the counter, dumbfounded.

"Miss Pierce. Miss Motta. Thank you both for your time." Her eyes flickered briefly to Brittany, and then she was gone.

Looking at the card in her hand, Brittany took a deep breath and exhaled, reading the officers name. _Santana_.

* * *

**A/N: Please keep reviewing! Thanks to those who already have. Follow me on tumblr: balexi dot tumblr dot com**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi folks this is quite a bit longer than my other chapters, but I had a few things I needed to establish before I could move the story along.  
Enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: On the Line**

Santana was grateful for the cool breeze, which helped to reduce her temperature slightly, as she left the dance studio. Walking towards the curb, she hesitated before opening the car door. _Get a grip. He wouldn't have noticed a thing_.

"...sure, yep, okay. We're only about 15 minutes away. Okay, see you soon." Mike put his phone down and turned in his seat to face Santana. "Now, would you like to tell me what _that _was all about?" He had a good poker-face, but the playful tone in his voice told Santana he had _some_ idea about what was going on.

Santana rolled her eyes, mainly at herself, but smiled at Mike before launching into a full explanation of the encounter at Heat. She also admitted that her reaction to the news of Brittany's connections earlier, came out of complete shock and was not, as most of the crew probably expected, purely a reaction to the woman's looks.

"But you obviously think she's hot though, right?" Mike was torn between curiosity and confusion.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I do, that's the _entire_ problem." Santana shook her head and plugged in her seatbelt, trying to give Mike the impression that she was done talking about it, when in truth she just didn't know what else to say.

They drove for ten minutes in silence before Santana thought to ask why Holly called.  
"Apparently the only one they could pick up today was Billie. He's down at the warehouse now. Lauren and Will managed to bug Patrick Flanagan's apartment, even got a camera in there, but Pat, old Daddy and Dermot seem to have done a runner." Mike turned down a side street and rounded the corner to the employee parking spaces.

Santana walked in ahead of Mike and went straight to the control room.

"Hey Abrams, we have _bunch_ of info for you on the Pierce girl and guess what? Could've found _most_ of it out with a quick little background check on one of these fancy computers." Santana stood beside the man, arms folded, eyes narrowed. Even with her average height, she towered over him in his chair and was more than aware of her intimidating stance.

"Excuse me Senior Constable Lopez? If you have a problem with the way that _I'm_ doing _my_ job, feel free to go through Holly. I think you will find, however, that she is more than satisfied with my exemplary performance record." He clasped his hands in his lap, looking smug and every bit as offensive as his tone.

"If you'da sent Chang and I to an _actual_ criminal with that shitty intel, we woulda gots killed. How would that look on your 'exemplary performance record'? Her eyes were menacing and her head moved side to side, emphasising each word as she spoke.

Artie Abrams swallowed audibly and turned his chair back around to face the screens ahead of him before he exhaled an apology. "I'm sorry Senior Constable Lopez, this won't happen again, I will be sure to provide you with the most accurate information possible to avoid any such circumstance in the future." When he finished, Santana noticed the man was panting slightly and she merely raised an eyebrow at him before turning on her heel and walking off; a satisfied grin on her face.

* * *

The entire SRS crew were working overtime trying to find any leads on where the mystery Flanagan men had fled to. Billie wasn't talking and appeared garishly content to be spending his nights in a holding cell. Without anything to charge him on, an ordinary police department wouldn't be able to hold him more than 24 hours, but Holly simply had Superintendent Sylvester put in a call to some 'higher-ups', as she called them, and they gave her 72 hours.

Santana struggled to get out of bed on Wednesday morning, her head aching slightly from lack of sleep and her eyes feeling gritty. Her regular 7-5 shift had become 7-9 two nights running and, unable to switch her mind off when she went to bed, she was lucky to fall asleep before 1am. Her usual 5am get ups had been pushed back to 5:30, but Santana knew that if she didn't get up for her run she'd be even worse off later.

Leaving the apartment block, she ran in the opposite direction to her usual route, popping in three huge hills in an effort to make the half hour almost as worthwhile as her regular hour. Returning home she showered quickly and threw on the first items she could find on the clean clothes pile, rushing out of the house with barely a goodbye to Mercedes who had just begun to surface and Tina, who had just arrived home.

Morning briefing quickly dissolved into a division of the mounting pile of old files which were related, in any slight way, to the Flanagan or Hernandez families. It had been two weeks since Rory Flanagan was shot and three days since the Hernandez nephew was found stabbed to death. Keeping a lid on speculation among the local press was difficult, as was alleviating the genuine concerns of the public. The SRS knew that they needed something concrete before they could take any further action and they could only hold Billie Flanagan for another 16 hours.

Santana placed four new folders on the pile on her desk and sat down to begin sifting and sorting through the contents. She'd scanned one page of the first document in her hands and was about to flip over the sheet of paper when she realised she hadn't taken any of it in. Sighing, she adjusted her chair, took a large sip of water from the glass next to her and began re-reading the page.

It took her almost an hour to finish reading the first file on a Juan Fuentes, brother in law of Ernie Hernandez and a major figure in the 'family business'. Santana looked across at her notepad. She had managed to summarise the whole file in three A5 pages and was just about the flip open the next file when her phone lit up on the desk in front of her. She didn't recognise the number, but picked up the phone and hit the green button as she stood up to stretch her legs.

"Hello, Santana Lopez speaking." She ran her palm over her jet black hair, twisting a few loose strands around her bun.

"Oh, hi Senior Constable. It's Brittany. Brittany Pierce?" Santana could hear a smile playing on the woman's lips and quickly felt her own mouth stretch into a wide grin.

"Miss Pierce. How can I help you?

"Well, I- I don't really know if this is related to your case at all, but I thought I should probably mention it on the off chance."

"Go on." Santana smoothed her palm over her mouth in an effort to physically wipe away her grin at the sound of Brittany's voice.

"Well I've been getting heaps of random calls from a blocked number. I usually don't even bother to answer them, but on the times when I have, nobody speaks and I can just hear them breathing on the end of the line. My housemate checked my call history when I told her about it and the first one was on the 12th, so it's been going on for about two weeks."

Walking to her desk, Santana checked the date on her watch and scrolled back to the top of the document she had open in her computer. While she didn't think Brittany's calls would be in anyway related to the Flanagan-Hernandez issue, she needed a reason to check it all out.

"I'm just checking to see if that date correlates to any of the activity on your father's file."

"Martin." The woman said flatly on the other end of the line.

"I'm sorry?" Santana's brow furrowed at the tone.

"Can we please just refer to him as Martin. That man was never a father to me." Santana felt a sadness wash over her at the sound if the woman's words.

"Sure. Well looking at Martin's file there was some significant activity on the 11th so I think that gives us a decent reason to look into these calls." Santana was fairly sure that the death of the man's son would constitute significant activity.

"I'm going to have a chat to my boss, but Sergeant Chang and I can come out to see you later today. Are you at your studio? What's your schedule like?" Santana felt a smirk playing on her lips, thinking about seeing the other woman again so soon.

"I have classes all day today, but my lunch break is 12-1 if that is suitable." Brittany sounded hopeful and Santana couldn't help but wonder if it was for the same reasons as her.

"That should be fine, I'll call if there is an issue, otherwise expect us around 12."

"Thank you Senior Constable, I'll see you soon."

"You will ..." Santana fell into a daydream, expecting to hear the other woman's voice again. A shrill beeping in her ear pulled her quickly back to reality and she walked the short distance to Holly's office.

With Will too distraught to come into work on his wedding anniversary, the first without his wife, Mike had been asked to accompany Lauren to Dermot Flanagan's house to install some listening devices and cameras, where possible.

Holly suggested Santana seek a quick lesson from Lauren, in installing a tracer on a phone, before heading out to SpinFlex solo. Santana's eyes must have widened at the suggestion because Holly tried to stifle a laugh, Santana immediately regretting opening her mouth when she asked Holly what was so funny.

"Come on sweet cheeks, I know you wanna tap that." Santana's eyes widened even more so and she felt a rush of warmth take over her neck and face. "You can thank me later for sending you out alone."

"But-I, umm- how did- I don't, ugh." Santana sighed, never usually lost for words, Holly's had left her a stammering mess.

"On Monday after you and Chang had been to see the hottie he forgot to end the call, I was still on the line. I heard you two talking and would've ended it from my side, only the chat was so damn juicy!"

Santana shook her head slowly, completely embarrassed that her boss knew this kind of information about her private life. "Look, Holly, I take my job very seriously, as you know, and I'm not about to get involved with somebody in a case."

"At present, the girl is case-adjacent, so I could almost overlook it. If we can rule out these calls as being related I say we can take her off the list entirely and you're free to start your own internal investigati..."

"Holly!" Santana interrupted her, shocked at the words leaving her employer's mouth.

Holly put both hands palm out in front of her, "I apologize. I get a rise out of making people squirm, a habit I have no real desire to break." She trailed off at the end of her sentence. "What I'm saying is, it's only crossing the professional line if she IS part of our case. Right now you're on the line. We established the other day that she's had zero contact with these men since she was a kid, so unless they're behind these calls, which I highly doubt, then that line doesn't even exist. It's in all of our best interests for you to investigate this, so I was just saying," her voice began to singsong, in telling Holly fashion, "...that your extra curricula interests could also be taken care of here."

Santana was quite uncomfortable with their line of conversation and was silent for a few seconds, unsure of how to respond. "I guess I appreciate your honesty Holly. I just want you to be aware that I've never crossed the line of professionalism and I do not intent to start now." She spoke with conviction, wanting to make her point clear even though Holly was incredibly relaxed about _her_ job.

"Go find Lauren, sweet cheeks, she'll need to head out soon. I have my fingers crossed for you, my legs too. Just make sure you do the same."

Santana allowed a small smile in response, clear that Holly could simply not help herself.

After a lengthy explanation to Lauren that Brittany's phone was a collector's item, she was given a basic run down on how to install the call tracer and how to extract all caller information from Brittany's phone to the palm top computer Lauren had provided.

* * *

Arriving at SpinFlex almost twenty minutes early, Santana sat in the car and methodically went over every one if the instructions Lauren had given her. They weren't complex and she was great with technology, but she needed to distract herself from the nerves brewing in the pit of her stomach_...or was it excitement_?

Heading inside, a sweaty Sugar Motta was just settling herself at the reception counter, wiping her neck, face and brow with a cloth. "Senior Constable, what a pleasure to see you again so soon. I told Britt those calls were worth checking out." Santana was sure she saw the woman trying to hide a smirk.

"Well anything is certainly worth checking out at this point, we're desperate for a lead but, in all honesty, I do hope that this isn't it." She hoped that Sugar thought she said this purely out of concern for Brittany's well being.

"Well Britt's class doesn't finish for another fifteen minutes, but you're welcome to wait in her office if you like." The smirk she may have been trying to hide before was now in plain view and Santana didn't know whether to feel uncomfortable or flattered somehow.

Upon entering Brittany's office, Santana assumed she understood the nature of the smirk. With the lights on in the adjoining teaching room Santana could see the class Brittany was teaching, through a large window behind the woman's desk.

She kept her eyes trained to Brittany as she made to sit down, but at the last moment she swore the woman caught her gaze and she raised her hand to wave.

"One way glass, she can't see you," Sugar deadpanned; Santana fully aware she was laughing on the inside, "...none of them can. Can I offer you a beverage Senior Constable?" Sugar's face was still impassive, but Santana wanted her out of there. Pointing to the water cooler in the corner of the room she mumbled a quick thank you to the girl. "I'll just grab some water."

Sugar smiled and closed the door behind her as she left. Santana sighed and then cringed, feeling stupid for thinking Brittany could see her.

She poured herself a water and wandered back towards the window, eyes falling on the gorgeous blonde dancer once again. Every now and then Brittany would stop the movement in the room and make some sort of hand gesture before continuing, each of the young students imitating her moves as best they could.

Guessing that the students were probably about twelve or thirteen, Santana observed one young girl approach the window, which she now knew to be a mirror, and bend down to pick up a water bottle. As the girl turned side on, Santana noticed she had a small circular plastic disc attached to her head, with a cable leading to a hearing aide. The girl put down her drink bottle and made a hand gesture to Brittany who had stopped the group, hands on hips and was tapping the watch on her wrist in time with her foot on the floor. There was more hand gesturing and then quickly the group resumed their routine.

Santana noticed the way Brittany moved effortlessly across the floor, keeping one eye trained on the group of girls behind her. Her body was incredible even with a long, loose fitting top over her leggings. Santana watched her as she stood aside and observed the girls for a long moment before positioning herself behind one of them and holding the girl's wrists loosely in her hands. She moved the girl left then right in perfect time with the rest of the group. The huge grin on the girl's face was priceless and Santana felt a strange sense of pride overtake her, but she was genuinely unsure as to who this was directed at.

A moment later Brittany glanced at her watch again and moved to turn off the stereo. _If they're deaf, how can they hear the music_?

Brittany finished the class with more elaborate hand gesturing, which Santana now understood to be Sign Language, before waving the group off. It was about two minutes to twelve when Brittany approached the window, using the mirror to check her hair and teeth before taking a deep breath and entering her office from the side door.

Seeing Santana, as she entered the room, she blushed instantly. "I had no idea you were in here." She quickly busied herself going to the water cooler to grab a drink. Taking a large gulp she continued, "You totally just saw me fixing my hair and checking my teeth, didn't you."

Santana nodded at the woman, aware she was grinning foolishly, but unable to stop herself. "If it makes you feel any better, when Miss Motta showed me in here I was sure you had looked at me and I waved rather enthusiastically at you." Despite feeling ridiculous doing this in front of Sugar, Santana didn't mind admitting it to Brittany if it made her feel better.

Brittany smiled at her, leaning against the wall near her desk. "Well that does make me feel a little better I suppose. But I can think of something else which might work too." Her tone made the last part of her sentence sound like a question and Santana, noticing the sparkle in the woman's eye, was apprehensive about asking hers.

"What's that then?"

"Well I thought…I've got an hour and I'm sure playing with my phone is something you could do anywhere so…I thought I could take you out to lunch." Her intonation rose in question again and Santana felt disappointment replace the earlier feeling of nerves or excitement.

"Brittany, I mean..Miss Pierce-I, I can't, we can't. In my situation it really wouldn't be appropriate." Her tone was apologetic and she could feel her pulse rate growing rapid.

"So you do have a girlfriend then." Brittany's voice was barely more than a whisper and Santana thought the woman may have actually been talking to herself.

Feeling as though she needed to do the mature thing, Santana spoke up. "Miss Pierce, I'm just going to name this up for what it is. I'm more than aware of the circumstances we met under and if I could change our present situation I would. The woman you saw me with at Heat was not my girlfriend. I'm not seeing anyone. Under the circumstances, however, I need to maintain a level of professionalism and that would be a lot easier for me to do if you…" she trailed of, waving a hand in front of her, unable to find the right words.

"If I …wasn't so damn interested?" Brittany chewed on her lower lip, averting her eyes from Santana, knowing that she still wasn't helping.

"Well, yeah." Santana rolled her eyes at the girl and almost snorted with laughter as the girl straightened her posture, tied her hair back and took a deep breath; all expression leaving her face.

"So what's the plan Senior Constable?" Brittany asked in a monotone voice, taking a seat on the fit-ball behind her desk which seemed to serve as her chair.

Santana took a deep breath herself and filled Brittany in on everything Lauren had told her while she installed the tracer and connected the phone to the palm-top.

"So the only rule is never answer a call from a blocked number while at home or work. If it is Martin, or someone else sketchy, their aim could be to keep you on the line for as long as possible to determine your location. However, if you receive such a call when _away_ from home or work, and particularly if you're on the move such as walking or in a cab, your job is to answer the call and try to keep _them_ on the line as long as possible. This will give us the opportunity to trace their call. Does that make sense?"

Brittany nodded. "So does the tracer pick up both incoming and outgoing calls?" Brittany asked, her playful tone returning. Santana sighed, desperately wanting to play along with the flirting game the woman kept trying out, but Holly's voice in the back of her mind warned her.

"If kept on the line long enough, we can trace the location of both parties whether it be an incoming or outgoing call." _Even voice, deliver the facts, no room for misinterpretations_.

"But you guys can't actually listen in on my calls though, right?" Her smile was overpowering and Santana found the way she bounced up and down lightly on the fit ball, incredibly distracting.

"Right. We would need to use other equipment to actually hear or record calls." Santana nodded her head slowly.

"So if I take a call from them, do I then need to call _you_, to tell you that it happened?" _Still flirting_.

"Well, not exactly," Santana paused seeing Brittany's face fall slightly and she had an overwhelming urge to reassure the woman. "We will now basically see the same information you do when you have an incoming call. If your screen says 'Sugar', that will display on our screen and we'll know to ignore it, but if it says 'Blocked' and you answer, our Intelligence Officer will begin an immediate trace on the call." Looking at the time, Santana stood up and collected her equipment back into the small computer case Lauren had given her.

"I need to get going now, but if you've been in a situation where you could keep them talking, perhaps you should phone me just to tell me the content of the conversation?" Santana thought that this seemed like a sensible scenario, but also didn't mind the excuse of communicating with the woman again. Brittany walked her out of the small office and past the reception desk, Santana noting that Sugar wasn't around.

"So," Brittany started, just as Santana reached the door, "…if you have any reason to call me then does that mean the words 'Hot Cop' are going to display on one of those fancy computer screens you lot have down there?" Santana's eyes widened and Brittany burst out laughing.

"You're not serious are you." Santana realised her tone seemed almost threatening and instantly regretted it.

Straightening up and looking far more serious herself, Brittany looked Santana in the eye, "Well no, all that will display will be 'Santana Lopez', but," she took a step back and allowed her gaze to travel over every inch of Santana, "… I was totally serious about the 'Hot Cop' part." With that she winked and, turning on her heel, walked back in the direction of her office.

Santana left the building, certain in was ten degrees warmer than moments before and, again, heard Holly's words in her head – "…right now you're on the line…"

_What happens if I cross it?_

* * *

**A/N: Reviews please! I hope people don't think this is developing too slowly, but I want to give it a solid foundation...and yes there will be some fun stuff coming up soon!**

**Follow me on tumblr: balexi dot tumblr dot com**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Confessions**

By the end of her second week at SRS Santana Lopez was certain of two things. Well, actually, she knew three things, but one was totally counterproductive. She knew that a) she loved the job and needed to get through her performance review and secure a long term contract and b) she had never appreciated weekends so much in her life.

With another two hours left on her shift and having just spent the past three hours at a hectic call out, Santana pushed thoughts of the weekend out of her mind and focussed on the afternoon of paperwork which awaited her.

SR2 had been called to a High School across town which had gone into lockdown when an angry student mixed 'chemicals' in the science lab and was walking around the grounds threatening to throw a full beaker of it at people. Several students had phoned their parents or tweeted about the goings on and this had caused major panic and a flurry of anxious parents arriving on school grounds. Unable to get into the locked buildings, many of these parents were putting themselves in harm's way and there was a genuine risk this would agitate the angry student more so.

The SR2 Crew worked with uniformed police to keep the parents at bay and the situation resolved itself when the angry student tripped and fell, tipping the liquid all over himself. The paramedic crew, who were standing by, quickly discovered that the mixture was nothing more than soft drink; a fact that the, now suspended, student later admitted to.

* * *

As she was leaving work Santana was saying goodbye to Shannon in the car park when she was distracted by the buzzing of her phone in her pocket. Glancing at the screen, she was disappointed to see it was an unknown number.

"Hello, Santana Lopez speaking." A manner of frustration hung in her voice.

"Hi, it's Brittany Pierce, how are you Senior Constable?"

Santana felt her heart rate rise instantly. "I'm well Miss Pierce," unable to prevent the playful tone which escaped her, "…what can I do for you? And where are you calling from?"

"Well I'm using Sugar's phone to make sure none of your cop friends know we're speaking. I'm actually calling to say I've been thinking about you ever since you left here on Wednesday and I really think I need to apologise..."

Santana could hear regret in the woman's voice, but her thoughts were occupied by the idea that she'd been on Brittany's mind since Wednesday.

"Senior Constable? Are you still there?" Brittany sounded somewhat more urgent now.

"Yeah-yes, sorry, I was just distracted for a minute. What is it you feel you need to apologise for Miss Pierce?" Santana was intrigued to say the least and, in the brief silence that followed, pondered if she should also be concerned.

"Well you were honest with me the other day about what _this_ is, what it has to be, and I don't think I was being fair. I mean, I know I wasn't. I wasn't even trying." She was beginning to ramble, but the grin on Santana's face kept getting wider and she wondered where it could be going. "I'm incredibly attracted to you and when Becky first suggested I contact you about the phone calls I hoped there was something to it, because it was an excuse to see you again, but now I'm hoping it's nothing, because I'm hoping _that_ then means there'd be no conflict of interest for you." Santana's mind was reeling and she was starting to understand that this woman never asked a question directly, but rather phrased her questions within a statement.

"Miss Pierce," She paused, choosing her next words very carefully. "…Brittany, I…" Santana sighed. She wanted to tell the woman that she had felt the same attraction from the moment she saw her at the club. She wanted to tell her that, although it was a rarity for her, she really wanted the opportunity to get to know her. She wanted to be able to tell her all of the things that had gone through her mind when she saw her teaching her class.

"Um... Miss Pierce…ah". _Come on, what are you doing_.

"I've done it again, haven't I? I'm just making things worse aren't I?" Santana could hear the woman becoming quieter with every word.

"No, Brittany, look. I'm sorry too. I can't say that _this_ needs to be a particular way and then…I've thought a lot this week about what would be happening right now if we had met under different circumstances…" She trailed off again, not able to find the right words which made both her feelings and the boundaries very clear.

"But we _did_ meet under different circumstances Santana and even if we hadn't met at Heat, if the first time we'd met had been Monday at my studio, I know we'd still be in this position. Well, I would anyway." Santana was acutely aware that was the first time Brittany had used her name and somehow, among everything else, it was this that helped her make up her mind.

"Okay. Brittany, I need to completely eliminate any connection between you and this case because since seeing you on Friday night, I've barely been able to think about anything else. Once we've traced this call and it turns out to be some weird telemarketing scheme, we can…_talk_." Santana simultaneously felt one weight lift from her chest, only to be quickly replaced with another.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Just, thank you. I'll see you when I see you."

Santana felt warmth settle where the weights had been moments before. "Yes. I'll see you soon."

* * *

With a week of sleep to catch up on, and no longer any genuine incentive to go to Heat, Santana decided on an early night on Friday. Tina was heading off to work at 9pm and Mercedes was on her fourth date with a tall blonde that Rachel Berry, the Jumping Beans' resident pixie, had set her up with. Disappointed that she was unable to date her own tall blonde, Santana settled for a solo movie night on the couch.

Part way into the movie, she began feeling extremely tired and could barely keep her eyes open. Dragging her feet to her room, she pulled back the covers and slid into cold sheets. With fatigue more powerful than the discomfort of being in a cold bed, alone, on a Friday night, Santana forced all thoughts of Brittany from her mind and fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

Santana was woken by the persistent buzzing of her phone against the wooden bed stand beside her. Rubbing her eyes with the pads of her fingers, she squinted, looking around the room for her alarm clock. 10:49 am. _Longest. Sleep. Ever_.

Reaching reluctantly for the phone she frowned upon seeing the call was from SRS. Assuming it would be Artie, she didn't even bother to clear her throat or attempt to sound remotely friendly.

"It's the weekend. What do you want Abrams?" She rasped.

"Wrong person sweet cheeks, its Holly. You wanna re-think that welcome?"

Santana slapped her palm against her forehead and cringed. "Ah, sorry Holly. I just woke up. What can I help you with?"

"Well, that depends, how soon can you get down here?" Holly sounded far more jovial than Santana could even envisage being right now.

"Can you give me half an hour?" Santana gritted her teeth, hoping that Holly hadn't picked up on her tone.

"Sure, but make it a short one. This is about your girl."

Santana opened her mouth to ask for details, but Holly hung up. Jumping off the bed she raced to her wardrobe and grabbed underwear, jeans, a white shirt and a blazer before heading to the bathroom. She was out the door within fifteen minutes and was at the warehouse within twenty.

"I thought that would be an incentive." Holly chimed as Santana raced into her office, slightly out of breath. Santana removed her jacket and plopped down in Holly's spare chair. A moment later Mike walked in, looking just as rushed and confused as she felt.

Holly presented them with a photo of Brittany standing out the front of SpinFlex talking to a dark haired man. Santana frowned, not understanding the point. Wordlessly, Holly produced a second photo of the same event a few moments either side of the first. In this photo Santana could clearly see the man Brittany was speaking with. Rory Flanagan.

She felt sick. A man Brittany had claimed to not even know existed and here they were smiling together and clearly in deep conversation. Holly spread a series of almost a dozen photos across her desk. Rory entering the building, Rory exiting. Brittany next to him, Brittany in front of him, Brittany laughing, Rory touching her arm. They looked very familiar.

Santana's blood boiled. She looked first at Mike and then at Holly, waiting for one of them to say something.

Holly was the first to speak up. "Since Monday we've had eyes on your girl," Santana flinched at her use of the term and felt her heart begin to thump inside her chest. "…Wheels tapped into a traffic camera across the street and was able to retrieve all images taken within the last month. These," she pointed to the many splayed across her desk, "…were taken on the 10th, twenty four hours before Rory was killed." She looked directly at Santana before continuing, "The timing doesn't look good."

Santana was speechless.

"So Holly," Mike ventured cautiously, "... Are you suggesting Santana and I go and confront this girl? The both of us?" He glanced sideways at Santana and then back at Holly.

"Well if there is a confession to get out of the Pierce girl, this one's the one to do it!" She pointed a finger at Santana who stood abruptly, pulling on her blazer and picking up the strewn pile of photographs altogether. She stopped at the door, determined and angry, "Chang! Are you coming or not?"

* * *

As they approached Brittany's neighborhood, Mike spoke for the first time. "Santana, we're almost there. We need a plan."

"Well how do you like this for a plan: we get bitch to confess that she knew about Rory and then we take her in for withholding."

"Santana, this is not an interrogation, she might have a logical explanation for talking to the guy."

"She lied to us Chang. I'll do the talking." Santana would have felt completely numb if it weren't for the embarrassment of being fooled by the woman.

She parked the car and was out before Mike had removed his seat belt. He ran up the path to catch up with her. Pausing momentarily, Santana took a deep breath and banged her knuckles loudly against the front door.

She heard a muffled noise from inside the house and, strangely, was surprised when Brittany opened the door. Santana felt sick at the huge smile which graced the woman's face.

"Hi Senior Constable Lopez, Sergeant Chang," noticing the icy glare in Santana's eye, Brittany's manner quickly changed. "How can I help you?"

Santana spoke before Mike could play Mister Nice-guy, "We need to ask you some questions in connection with our case. Can we do this inside?" She noticed the colour drain from the woman's face as she turned and lead them straight into the lounge room.

"W-what's going on exactly?" Brittany asked nervously.

"We'll ask the questions Miss Pierce. Who's this?" She virtually threw a photo at the woman.

Brittany's brow furrowed and she looked up and to the left, deep in thought. "I can't remember exactly, but I think his name is James something - I can go and check my diary if-"

"Cut the bullshit." Brittany winced at the sound of Santana's voice. It was low and steady, giving away nothing of the gamut of emotions she was feeling. "We know you met with Rory Flanagan the day before he died. What I want to know is why you lied to us."

Brittany's eyes shone in an effort to hold back tears. "I've been nothing but honest with you," She looked directly at Santana as she spoke, sounding desperate "...why didn't you tell me Rory was dead? This guy," she pointed to the man in the photo on her lap, "...can't possibly have been Rory Flanagan."

"Who was he Brittany, how did you know him?" Mike was calm and spoke gently, clearly wanting to believe the woman.

"Wait a second Chang." Santana turned from him and back to Brittany. "Even if you didn't know who he was when you were speaking to him, you can't tell me you didn't work it out the next day when his face was plastered all over the newspapers and television!" Santana had had enough, she wanted answers and she wanted them now.

Before Brittany could respond a key turned in the front door lock and a short woman walked past the lounge room on her way to the kitchen before backtracking and staring at the three of them.

Brittany hopped up off the couch and put her arm around the girl. "Becky, these are the officers I was telling you about. This is Senior Constable Lopez and Sergeant Chang." Turning towards Santana and Mike, Brittany spoke again "This is one of my housemates Becky Jackson. She's the one who suggested I contact you about the calls."

Santana observed the disabled girl as she spoke up slowly. "Is that why you guys are here? Do you have news about the calls?"

"Not exactly, but we do need to continue speaking with Miss Pierce if you can give us a moment." Santana's tone was even, but barely polite.

"Becky could you please get my diary from my bag?" Brittany asked in her usual cheerful manner before turning back to Santana and Mike, lost.

"I never really watch the news to be honest and if it was on and I saw something about a death I wouldn't watch it anyway. I don't like not being happy." Santana was torn between rolling her eyes at the woman's supposed naivety or empathising and wanting to keep her inside that innocent bubble.

"The world is not a happy place Miss Pierce." Santana was now unsure as to what was fuelling her anger.

Looking at Santana once again, Brittany stated simply, "I know that now."

When Becky returned with Brittany's diary, she sat next to the woman on the arm of the couch, placed an arm around her shoulder and whispering loudly "You okay here?"

Brittany scoffed slightly fighting the onslaught of tears, replying 'yes' before asking Santana for the date the pictures were taken.

"The 10th."

Brittany flicked back through the diary, wiping a single tear from her cheek, before arriving at the correct page and running her finger down the cramped written notes scrawled across it.

"James O'Donnell. He said he ran a children's charity and gave me his card. He wanted me to organise a group of young people to dance at one of his benefits. He was meant to send me more information in the post, but nothing came. I guess that makes sense now."

"Don't you get it Miss Pierce, nothing would have come anyway. He lied to you. His name wasn't James and he didn't run a charity!" Standing up she looked from Brittany to Mike and shook her head.

"We're done here."

Without turning to say goodbye Santana marched out of the house and back to the car with Mike following quickly behind her.

They drove back to the warehouse in silence, Santana leaping from the car the moment the ignition switched off. Storming up the stairs she grabbed her own keys from her desk and rushed back out.

"Santana!" Mike called from the corridor. She turned reluctantly.

"It's my day off Chang, this shouldn't have happened." She was abrupt and verging on emotional, two things she regretted being in front of him.

"Why did you assume the worst Santana?"

"Because its more common to be disappointed than pleasantly surprised." She walked off without another word. Heading home with her music turned up loud she moved slowly through the traffic, going through the day's events in her head. Bottom line: she'd fucked up.

Pulling over to the side of the road she grabbed her phone and dialed Holly's number.

"You calmed down yet sweet cheeks? I heard things got feisty with the dancer."

Santana felt a lump forming in the back of her throat and fought to keep it from rising. "I didn't handle things well Holly. I need you to reassign me and put someone else on her please." Santana felt sick at the pleading in her voice.

"Even if I do that, you can't bang the chick Santana, not until we know she's not involved."

"Please just reassign me Holly, it'll be easier for everyone."

"Done. But Santana... I really expected more of you to be honest."

"So did I Holly. I can assure you this won't happen again."

"I know it won't sweet cheeks. Go and drink it off and I'll see you Monday."

* * *

When Holly hung up, Santana kept the phone to her ear for several moments, feeling all of the conflicting emotions of her days rolling down her cheeks inside hot tears. _I really should apologise to Mike._

Turning the car around Santana drove for twenty minutes in the other direction. Pulling up to the curb, she got out of the car and wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans as she walked towards the front door.

Wiping a finger under each eye, she knocked on the door and waited. Santana leant against the door frame feeling her heart beating in her throat, filled with an unfamiliar sense of dread.

When the door opened she sighed and with every ounce of sincerity within her said "I'm sorry. I really need to apologise." She could tell Brittany had been crying and wanted to reach out and comfort the girl she had clearly hurt, but did not expect the response which came instead.

"You had no fucking right to speak to me that way. I've told you EVERYTHING I know." And with that she slammed the door and Santana was left alone with her thoughts once again.

* * *

**A/N: In a bit of a rush to get this one up as I'm keen for people to read Chapter 9. Sorry for a delay with the edit, all corrections should have been made by now.**

**Follow me on tumblr and check out manip of Senior Constable Santana Lopez in uniform: balexi dot tumblr dot com**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks everyone for the reviews, keep them coming. This is my very first fic and I know it's been a bit of a slow build up, but I'll certainly make it worth your while if you hang in there with me :)**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Shut Down**

Brittany leant her forehead against the front door, her hand still holding onto the door knob. Speaking aggressively like that had rattled her, it didn't feel right, especially when the other woman looked so vulnerable.

Moving her head down to chest height she looked through the peephole. The other woman was standing on the front step facing away from her, head hanging and hands resting in the back pockets of her jeans.

Brittany was torn. She certainly did not deserve to be treated the way she was, but at the same time the woman was here to apologise and this seemed like a huge step outside the officer's comfort zone. Without knowing what to say to her, Brittany turned the door knob slowly, opening the door ajar.

Hearing it click open Santana turned quickly, her eyes flickering between Brittany and the door, clearly hesitant to make eye contact.

"Brittany, I...", her voice seemed uncharacteristically weak, "...could I please come in?"

Without a word, Brittany stood aside, opening the door all the way and moving a hand to indicate Santana should continue past her. Santana walked into the entry way and stood face to face with Brittany who moved to close the door before heading to the lounge room.

She sat down on the far end of the couch with one leg tucked underneath her, her body facing Santana's as she sat down hesitantly.

"Brittany, I know I said I'm sorry, and I also know that's not enough, but I don't really have any idea what to say next." Santana sat, shoulders slumped, looking both embarrassed and remorseful.

"Well why don't I start then." Brittany made an effort to keep her voice even and was determined not to cry in front of the woman again. "I'm certainly no stranger to being treated like an idiot, but I've certainly never been treated like a criminal. I'm a good person Santana, and I don't understand why you would come here, to my house, and assume the worst after the other conversations we've shared this week." Brittany took a deep breath to regain her composure, staring at the other woman expectantly.

Santana shook her head slowly from side to side and brought a hand up to run through her long black hair, which fell in waves around her shoulders. Brittany found this very distracting. She wasn't very good at holding a grudge at the best of times.

"I've got so many different things I want to say to you, but I just don't know where to start. When my boss showed us those photos of you today, for some ridiculous reason I felt betrayed. _I_ was angry that _you_ had lied to _me_. I made it personal. That's something I never do," she trailed off as though she was speaking to herself now, "...even when it's supposed to be personal."

"I didn't know who he was Santana, I had no reason to suspect he was anyone other than who he claimed to be. I honestly didn't know Rory even existed until Monday." Brittany spoke in a gentle tone, wanting to make her point clear, but without pushing the other woman away.

Santana nodded, unable to meet Brittany's gaze. "I know that now. I think I knew you were telling the truth after the first question I asked you. Then I felt angry because Flanagan had taken advantage of you and I - I took that out on you and then," Santana glanced at Brittany momentarily before looking back down at her hands, restless in her lap. Brittany had to resist the urge to reach out and cover them with her own to still them, "...-then I just felt angry at _myself_ and disappointed because someone who automatically goes to the angry place on _every_thing is no match for someone who only wants to see the good in this world."

Brittany felt a tugging in her chest at Santana's words and she watched as a single tear escaped and trailed down Santana's face. Before she could stop herself she reached out and, placing her palm against the woman's cheek, used her thumb to wipe the tear away.

Brittany felt a warmth overtake her as Santana relaxed into the touch. A moment later, however, she quickly remembered their phone conversation from the previous day and removed her hand immediately, placing it back in her own lap.

"Thank you." She lowered her head, tilting it slightly to one side, trying to catch Santana's eyes, still downcast.

"For what?" Santana looked up, brow furrowed, thoroughly confused.

"For being honest with me, for ...coming back." Brittany smiled at Santana's expression, softening finally. "Santana, can I ask you something?" Brittany chewed on her bottom lip, unsure whether she should have used the officer's name.

Santana nodded slowly and took a deep breath as if preparing herself for what was to come.

"Before, when you said you made it personal," Brittany paused, hoping that she wasn't out of line bringing it back up, "...you said you don't do that even when you should. What did you mean?" Brittany pressed her lips together and searched Santana's face for a sign that her question was okay.

"Well," Santana took another deep breath and cleared her throat before continuing, "...I'm not very good with feelings. I tend to avoid, I- I dunno I guess I avoid situations where I have to think too much or process, I mean, I just don't stick around long enough for it to get too personal." Santana looked away again, but this time Brittany was certain the woman actually looked ashamed.

"So all aboard the midnight express eh? One stop only?" Brittany raised her arm and pulled down on an imaginary cable before adding "Choo-Choo", causing both of them to chuckle and shifting the mood ever so slightly.

"Yeah, I suppose that about sums me up. I don't want you to think I'm proud of that though." Santana was serious again.

"Sooo, that piece of _crazy_ from the dance floor the night we met...was she after a refund on her one way ticket?" Brittany bit her lip, smiling, but painfully aware that she was dancing very close to the line once more.

"Umm...the problem there was she had a series of one way tickets, but I dictated when she could use them." Santana smirked now and Brittany hoped that it was due to the metaphor and not woman in question.

"Well in hindsight, I'm kind of glad she interrupted us that night." Brittany felt the flirtatious tone creeping into her own voice as Santana raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Because I -I would need, um, ah, dammit! I was trying to be clever and think of something to do with long train trips and magical golden tickets, but I got nothin'."

Santana still appeared curious, but amusedly so. Brittany dropped her gaze now to her own hands in her lap as she felt her toes inch over the line.

"What I was trying to say is that I'd want this to be more than a one night thing." She rushed through those words, afraid of Santana's reaction.

"Brittany..." Santana's tone was pleading.

"I know, I'm sorry." Brittany shook her head before looking up again and straight into Santana's dark, hypnotic eyes. "I'm in this now, aren't I? Even if the phone calls turn out to be nothing, I'm in this now."

Santana nodded her head solemnly.

* * *

The night the two had met at Heat, Brittany had spotted Santana the moment she came in. The look of confidence in her eyes and that strut past the bar had captivated her. She looked like Shay Mitchell, but not a thing like the meek and mild Emily Fields the woman played on Pretty Little Liars. When the woman approached the bar after having danced with half the woman there, Brittany followed her, hoping to find the courage to buy the girl a drink.

She felt embarrassed when the crazy woman accosted Santana while they were dancing. Certain it was the woman's girlfriend, Brittany felt guilty that she, too, had done the wrong thing by the other woman. When Santana left with the her, Brittany found Sugar and Kurt and told them she wanted to leave. The three headed out the back exit towards Brittany's car. She hadn't been drinking and as they drove away from the bar she saw the woman touch Santana's arm in her rear view mirror.

She felt sick with jealousy and disappointment. She wished it had been Sugar's turn to drive and that she had been too drunk to remember the woman with the raven hair and the smoothest skin she'd ever touched.

* * *

"Brittany, I really should go, I shouldn't even be here. I just really wanted to apologise for doubting you. I just needed to explain." Santana turned on the couch and pushed her palms against her thighs as if it were an effort to get up. She moved to slide her hands into the back pockets of her jeans when Brittany moved forward and grabbed her left hand.

"Please don't go." She regretted touching the woman instantly, the pained look on Santana's face, communicating so many wordless thoughts.

"Brittany, I-"

"Santana," Brittany interrupted her before she could protest, letting go of the woman's hand reluctantly and motioning for her up sit back down, "... is there any harm in talking? If we stay away from the line we can't cross, can we just...talk?"

Santana ran her fingers through her hair again, looking up towards the ceiling as if contemplating Brittany's proposal.

"I guess there's no real harm in that, is there?" She sat herself down on the couch, turning her body to face Brittany. "So what would you like to talk about?" Brittany was pleased to note a relaxed quality in the woman's voice, but was unsure of how to respond, having not planned this far ahead.

"Umm, well how about you tell me a weird fact about yourself, something completely random." Brittany felt a strange excitement tangle around her idea as she moulded her body into soft suede couch.

Santana smiled playfully and Brittany sincerely hoped for some more line crossing despite her vow of only moments before. "Okay, umm, well, have you heard of that kids group called The Jumping Beans, like The Wiggles, only its four girls?"

"Of course I have," Brittany beamed, "most of my warm ups for the younger kids I teach are _totally_ borrowed from their songs and routines! Do _you_ have a secret love for them too?" Brittany talked rapidly, like an excited kid listing all their gifts at Christmas.

"Not exactly," Santana started, letting out a small laugh at the look of disappointment on Brittany's face, "...one of my housemates is a Jumping Bean."

"Oh my god, you do _not_ live with Rachel Berry!" Brittany slapped her hand against the couch in utter disbelief.

"I can't tell if you think that would be a good thing or a bad thing, I personally think she's insane, but no, I live with Mercedes Jones."

"No way," Brittany reached out and slapped Santana's thigh light-heartedly before she could stop herself and then began to talk quickly to cover up the slip, "...well Mercedes is awesome, she's seriously talented, but I think Rachel Berry is amazing, I kind of wanted to _be_ her in High School."

"You went to Carmel?"

Brittany shook her head. "No, I went to McKinley. We had this Show Choir called The New Directions and there was this rival show choir called-"

"Vocal Adrenaline." Santana interjected.

Brittany knitted her eyebrows together, confused before her eyes widened in realization, "Of course you'd know that, you know Rachel, duh." She smacked her palm to her head playfully.

"Anyway, I spent three years essentially as just one if the dancers in the background for New Directions. No solos. Not one. I mean, I could carry a tune, but nothing like Rachel. She and Jesse owned that stage and I just always wanted to feel that powerful."

Brittany stopped talking and looked at Santana who was looking back at her, mouth agape. "What? What did I say."

"_You_, were in a Show Choir? _You_ were in the New Directions?" Santana's smirk caused Brittany to flush with embarrassment instantly and she hung her head in her hands briefly in an attempt to hide it.

"That's a deal breaker isn't it? You think I'm a freak because I was in a show choir and I idolized someone you can't stand." Brittany shook her head at herself and looked up to notice Santana shaking her own head, in time with Brittany's, but with that smirk still playing on her lips.

"Nope, you got it _all_ wrong._ I_ was in a Show Choir too. The Troubletones, I went to-"

"Ainsley Mills Academy." Now it was Brittany's turn to interrupt.

"You remember us?" Santana appeared genuinely proud of the fact.

"Are you kidding me? You went to Nationals in 2011 as well! We came 12th and you were 11th! After that our coach made us look you up. I spent _ages_ on You Tube totally confused because I thought Unique from our school was also in your show choir."

Santana laughed. "I remember Unique, I guess she did look a tiny bit like Mercedes."

Now it was Brittany's turn to smirk. "I am _so_ You Tube-ing you later!"

"Ditto." Santana winked, clearly forgetting herself for a moment.

Brittany felt herself blush again. "Santana, realistically, how long could this case go on for?"

She wanted the woman to say it would all be over soon. She wanted her to say it didn't matter. She wanted the woman to leap across that imaginary line regardless. She allowed her eyes to meet Santana's again and was sure she recognised the look there. It was something she felt herself. Something she'd felt for over a week. Longing.

"This case," Santana bit the words out like they'd formed a bad taste in her mouth, "…has been going on for a really long time. In some ways it started before you and I were even born. The issue right now is that the drug trade has tripled in the city in the past twelve months and a rivalry began between you fathe…" she stopped to correct herself, causing Brittany to feel a small pang of happiness, "…between Martin's crew and the Hernandez family. Both had been conducting their own businesses separately, but a new drug on the market changed the game. I can't see this ending anytime soon Brittany. I've asked my boss to remove me from your part in the case and reassign me to other duties."

"Could that mean…" Brittany didn't need to finish the sentence, the look on Santana's face gave her the answer she was hoping not to hear.

"I wish it were different. But I also need you to understand that I just started out with SRS. I really can't do anything that could jeopardize my chances…" Santana trailed off, possibly noticing the shift in Brittany's body language.

She felt like she had been punched, hearing Santana point out that she was a risk she wasn't willing to take.

"Brittany?" Santana tried to meet her gaze, but she was staring holes in the carpet, avoiding those damned eyes in an effort not to feel overwhelmed again.

"Britt, look at me." Brittany flinched at the woman's hand touching her shoulder, her heart now hammering inside her chest. She felt her eyes closed involuntarily as Santana's hand moved slowly down her arm until she was holding her hand in hers.

"Brittany, I want to know you and I don't want to know _anybody_. I don't know why it feels different with you, but I always leave feeling whatever time we've spent together is never enough. I want to do this, like we have today, all the time," she grasped Brittany's free hand in hers now, holding them close together, "…I want to talk with you and laugh with you, I…" She shook her head and breathed in deeply before letting out a long frustrated breath, averting her gaze.

Brittany could feel tension welling in the pit of her stomach and moving up past her racing heart, residing in the base of her throat. She needed Santana to look at her again. Removing a hand from one of Santana's, which was resting against her leg, she brought it up slowly, touching Santana's check as she had done earlier when she cried. Much like earlier, she felt Santana lean into the touch and the feeling of smooth skin against her palm sent pleasant chills throughout her body.

Applying the smallest amount of pressure, she urged Santana to turn back to look at her once again. Face to face once more, Santana's eyes were downcast and Brittany noted that her breathing, had become rapid and shallow much like her own.

When Santana looked back up at Brittany, she offered her a soft smile which Brittany returned as she stroked her thumb across Santana's cheek. This action elicited a deep sigh from the woman and her brow furrowed. Brittany moved her other hand to Santana's brow in an effort to relax the tension she held there.

"Britt, this isn't right." Santana's voice was barely a whisper and Brittany was sure she didn't believe her own words.

"If you can look me in the eye and tell me this _feels_ wrong, I'll stop." Brittany nodded her head lightly, but felt her throat constrict in anticipation.

Santana shook her head, still held between Brittany's hands and brought her own up to place on top of each one. Brittany felt her eyes close at the touch, afraid to open them before Santana answered her question.

"I _really_ don't want you to stop." Brittany barely heard the words escape Santana's lips, but she looked down at them before allowing her eyes to flicker back to meet Santana's as she pulled her closer and allowed their lips to touch. She heard a small whimper from Santana and her own stomach somersaulted as Santana's fingertips trailed down her arms and up the back of her neck, brining them impossibly closer. She felt Santana's tongue graze her upper lip and couldn't prevent the moan which escaped her throat at the contact. Their tongues moved against each other and Brittany felt so light headed she almost thought she was falling.

She was brought back to reality with a thud as Santana pulled away and moved herself back on the couch creating the biggest distance between them, breathing deeply. Brittany felt an aching in her chest as she looked at Santana who was staring at her, shaking her head with tears welling in her eyes.

"Brittany…no one can know about this."

Without a single word in her vocabulary which could serve as an appropriate response, Brittany simply watched Santana leave. She hesitated, once by the couch, and again by the door, tears now streaming down her face, before looking back at Brittany and pulling open the front door.

Brittany flinched at the sound of the door shutting hard against the frame and curled up in her spot on the couch, bringing a shaking hand to her own cheek now to wipe away a single tear.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Appreciating your reviews. SB I tweaked the synopsis to prevent it reading like a spoiler. Bit of fluff this Chapter, but includes key info for future chapters. Review, review, review :)**

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**Chapter 10: Linger On**

Santana arrived home reeling from her contact with Brittany. Every one of her sense was heightened and her nerves were on edge in a way she'd never experienced. She touched a fingertip to her lower lip, feeling where Brittany had been only half an hour before, and sighed.

Reaching for her phone, Santana turned it over in her palm several times. Swiping her thumb along the unlock screen, she keyed in her pass code and opened up a new text message screen.

She was frustrated with herself for running out on Brittany, but she had been so overwhelmed and felt completely unable to explain away her tears.

Pressing '_B_' a list of contacts appeared on the screen and sandwiched between Bella Forbes and Bronwyn McIntyre was Brittany Pierce. Selecting Brittany's name, Santana stared at the blank message box trying to think of how to word her message. She typed and deleted more than seven different versions before feeling remotely satisfied with her wording.

_I'm sorry I ran out on you. I know I'm already two strikes down here, but I'd really like a chance to explain. Do you have a landline I can call or could you ring me from Becky or Sugar's phone please._

Santana hesitated before pressing send and then spent the next three minutes staring at her phone and willing Brittany to text or phone her. Needing a distraction, Santana searched the drawers of the coffee table for a pen and paper, stealing regular glances at her phone on the couch. As she began writing a shopping list, she felt as though the house was eerily quiet.

* * *

Mercedes had been out of town, for the past two days, doing small local promotional shows with the Beans before their big National tour. Santana had doubled over with laughter when Mercedes showed her the Beans' new costumes. She thought they all looked like giant Slinkys, well, apart from Rachel. That midget looked like a Slinky the size of a human child. Santana pondered phoning Mercedes to debrief her insane day, but thought better of it knowing she'd have a number of other people with her almost constantly.

Tina's shifts had been even more ridiculous in the last week and she was presently sleeping away the early evening due to having a ridiculously early shift the following day.

Santana thought, in that moment, she'd never needed her girls for advice more than she did right now. She toyed with the idea of waking Tina, but decided this was hardly fair being that she knew how grumpy she felt when people woke her.

* * *

Santana dragged herself away from the couch to make a coffee and was at the door-way when her phone began to ring. Tentatively Santana made her way back to the couch and, closing her eyes and breathing deeply, picked it up.

"Look thanks for calling me I really just wanted t…" Santana was cut off by a frustrated voice on the other end of the line.

"Not so fast there Speedy Gonzales…" Santana's eyes widened at the insinuation in Becky's drawn out lisp.

"Becky!" Brittany chastised her friend from the background and Santana couldn't help but stifle a giggle.

"Right then, now listen here," Becky began again, "…you mess with my girl Britt and we'll mess you up, you got it? I so don't care that you're a cop you know, I could easily just…"

"BECKY! Stop it! Give me the goddamn phone already."

Santana snorted and couldn't help the wide grin which was making her cheeks ache.

"Santana? Hi, it's me. Sorry about that. Becky insisted that if I was to use her phone she wanted to speak with you first." Brittany sounded a little flustered, or perhaps there was an undertone of frustration there. Santana couldn't tell.

"I'm just glad you called. Look Brittany, I just really…"

"Santana, I really _do_ understand the position this whole thing puts you in and if there was a threat of some kind which meant _I_ could lose _my_ job, I'm not sure I'd be willing to risk it, so I totally see where you're coming from. But also, just so we're clear, I'm not a fan of being jerked around so if you strike out with this chance, it's game over." Brittany seemed slightly out of breath after her rant and Santana's wide grin of moments before was beginning to wane.

"That's fair. I just want you to know that I didn't run out because I don't want this. It was the opposite."

"I don't follow."

"Have breakfast with me tomorrow?" Santana threw the question in without another thought.

"I'm sorry. Do you mean as in… like a... date?" Brittany sounded uncertain now.

"Well, I guess so, but I thought you could come here … to my place. Neither of my housemates will be here so we'll have an opportunity to talk." Santana closed her eyes and pressed her palm to her forehead as she waited for a response.

"Um…okay then. Text me with the time and your address and I'll see you tomorrow." Brittany hung up immediately, clearly not wanting to give Santana any leeway for excuses or a sudden change of heart. _See you tomorrow Brittany_.

* * *

The following morning Santana lay awake in bed before the sun even began to peek through her curtains. She could feel a combination of nerves and excitement dancing together in the pit of her stomach and decided it was best to get up and busy herself with preparations instead of thinking too much.

After madly tidying the house from top to bottom, Santana showered and raided her closet for an outfit that said _I'm glad you're here, I'm not going to stuff this up again and I'm also very relaxed about seeing you_. That was a lot of pressure for one outfit.

Entering the kitchen, Santana littered the entire bench with the many and various items she had bought, from her extensive shopping list, the previous evening. Over the course of two hours she had pancakes warming in the oven along with the croissants, eggs, mushrooms and beans on the stove, a fruit salad in a large glass bowl on the bench and a loaf of olive sourdough bread cut, ready to make toast.

Santana knew she had gone overboard with the breakfast selection but, partly, this was to help her get to know Brittany better. She hoped that there might be more breakfast dates in the future and too many choices was certainly preferable to preparing one thing that Brittany may not like.

* * *

At exactly 9:32 am there was a light knock on the front door and Santana took a moment to breathe in and scan her surroundings. _Perfect_. Removing her apron, she quickly shoved it into an open cupboard, closing it with her foot. She gave her hair a flick and checked her appearance in the hallway mirror before taking another deep breath and placing a tentative hand on the door handle. As she pulled the door open, conflicted emotions began to dance, once again, in her stomach and her heart began to pound against her chest.

Brittany looked at Santana with uncertainty in her eyes. Santana, relieved that Brittany had decided to show, smiled warmly at the incredibly beautiful woman at her door. Brittany returned the smile and hesitated nervously as Santana motioned for her to come inside.

"I'm really glad you came over. I-um, I…are you hungry?" Santana didn't know whether to launch into her second apology in two days or feed the woman first. Brittany nodded, still having not said a word, and offered only another smile.

Santana led her to the dining area, situated between the kitchen and the lounge room and heard Brittany gasp in surprise as she saw virtually every inch of the table filled with food.

"Wow, you don't do things by halves do you?" Brittany rolled her eyes playfully, but Santana was pleased to see she appeared impressed.

"Nope, certainly don't. Even my stuff ups are monumental; I only hope all of this," she gestured to the table before them, "…goes some small way towards showing you how sorry I am." Santana cringed slightly and pulled a chair out motioning for Brittany to sit down.

"What would you like to drink? I can do coffee, tea, I have several juices, I could make you a hot chocolate. What would you prefer?" Santana fidgeted nervously with her hands and waited for Brittany's reply. She couldn't control the way she flinched when Brittany brought a hand up to rest on both of hers.

"You're doing fine you know. This is a pretty good start to an apology. Even if I can't possibly forgive you, I'm _so_ going to be leaving here happy." Brittany had a mischievous glint in her eye, but Santana couldn't help feeling slightly deflated at her words.

"Geez, if I'd know the staff here were a bunch of sad sacks I would have gone somewhere else to eat." Brittany nudged Santana, who couldn't help but crack a smile. "Do you have apple juice?"

Santana nodded. "Be right back."

Santana returned with an apple juice for Brittany and an orange juice for herself and placed the glasses carefully down on the table before sitting opposite Brittany. Both women started helping themselves to the feast in front of them.

As Santana looked over at the blonde woman she noticed that she was dressed very casually in a white v-neck t-shirt, black three-quarter leggings and was wearing grey and pink Nike runners.

"You planning a quick get away?" Santana joked, but Brittany only gave her a puzzled expression in response.

"You're wearing runners. Did you think you might need to get yourself out of here in a hurry?" Santana smirked.

"Well, I have dancing later this morning and being that I was unsure of the dress code for this particular establishment, I thought I'd chance my luck." Brittany's smirk now mirrored Santana's. "Can-can I ask you something?" She put down her fork, having finished the last of the eggs on her plate.

"Sure. Anything. You can ask me anything at all." Santana put her spoon back into the bowl of fruit she was eating and reached for a croissant, picking at it while she waited for Brittany to phrase her question.

"Last night when you phoned you said that when you ran out it wasn't because you…" Brittany paused, waiting for Santana to look at her, "…why did you leave Santana?"

Santana moved from her position opposite Brittany at the table and walked to the side, taking the seat next to her. She reached down and grabbed the sides of Brittany's chair, turning it towards her. She took in a deep breath before beginning the explanation she'd rehearsed while she should have been sleeping the night before. "When you kissed me yesterday, it was like I felt every moment from the last two weeks all at once. I felt more during that kiss than I have in _entire_ relationships before." She chuckled self-consciously. "Although that's not really saying much since my track record with anything over a few days is pretty poor." Santana paused briefly before continuing. "I was so overwhelmed and I felt out of control and… control is pretty much my thing. I find it hard to deal with _not_ feeling in control."

Santana looked away from her, feeling embarrassment.

"Hey." Brittany clicked her fingers in front of Santana's face gently before leaning in and resting both her palms on Santana's knees. "When you kissed me back yesterday, I felt all of those things too. I guess the only difference is that it doesn't scare me. I find it exciting. It just made me want more." Santana could see both sincerity and desire shining in Brittany's eyes. "I want to be with you Santana. I don't know how many other ways I can say it. I'm in this in whatever way you'll have me. However it has to be. I know that your job is…"

She was interrupted suddenly by Santana's lips on hers in a kiss which was very different to the one they shared the day before. Santana cupped Brittany's chin and gently pressed their lips together, barely moving until she needed to pull back to catch her breath. Santana grabbed hold of Brittany's left hand with both of hers and gripped it tightly. She allowed her gaze to linger on Brittany's incredible blue eyes, unsure of what to say next.

"I'm not going anywhere Santana. I'm not going to run out. This," she motioned a hand up and down, pointing to her outfit, "…was an excuse. Well sort of. I figured that if this all went pear shaped I could use needing to go to the studio as my out. If it turned out to be okay and the food was really good, which it is, I figured I'd need to go and dance it off anyway. I'm not asking you to risk everything for me, I don't expect you to. I just want to spend time with you. I just want that to be okay."

Santana relaxed, breathing out a quiet laugh at yet another of Brittany's, signature, indirect question.

"It is. It is okay. When I said no one can know about us, I kind of meant it. I mean, I figure Sugar and Becky know what has been going on and that's okay, but we do need to be careful Britt. I really don't want work finding out. Are you okay with us keeping this on the DL? Can we trust that your girls won't say anything about this to anyone?"

"Yes and totally." Brittany smiled. "I'd trust those girls with my life."

* * *

As they were finishing up with breakfast, both complaining about having eaten far too much, Santana noticed a devilish smirk appear on Brittany's face.

"What's that look for?" Santana narrowed her eyes playfully at the other woman.

"Nothing, I just thought about something funny, a bit of a coincidence really." Brittany teased.

"Do tell."

"Well…you're not the first cop I've picked up on the dance floor at Heat." Her eyes lit up flirtatiously and Santana felt her eyebrows shoot up comically.

"Well in our case this has been the longest 'pick up' in the history of the universe." She used air quotes to emphasise the term. "Please tell me you weren't previously involved in some other criminal case."

Brittany laughed. "No way. Trust me…there was _no_ conflict of interest last time."

Santana flipped her hand against Brittany's thigh. "Now that's just mean. When was this? What was her name. Maybe I know her."

Brittany smirked again. "Look at you with all the questions. If it turned out that you do know her, would you really want to know that you know her…or more importantly that _I_ know her?"

Santana considered this for a moment, seeing Brittany's point, but also feeling too intrigued to back down. "Details Pierce. Spill."

Brittany leaned in and gave Santana a quick peck on the lips before continuing. "Okay, but no getting jealous. It was four or five years ago, I was going through a Nicki Minaj/Lady Gaga phase where I had a different hair colour and style every week. For memory my hair was pink and everything I was wearing was ripped. We literally bumped into each other while we were dancing. She was just a plain old cop, not a hot fancy one like you," Santana and Brittany exchanged a grin, "…and I went back to her place and she got crafty with some of the accessories on her _duty belt_." Brittany's smirk could not possibly get any wider.

"I can't believe you know its called a duty belt. _I_ didn't even know that when I started wearing one. I called it a toolkit. What. Was. Her. Name?" Santana bit those last words out playfully, poking a finger higher and higher up Brittany's leg with each word.

"Well she _told_ me her name was Luce, which it probably was, but I told her _mine_ was Sugar, so I wouldn't hang your hat on it." The two laughed together before an obvious question popped into Santana's mind.

"If crazy Alice hadn't turned up and accosted me at Heat that night, what name would you have given me?"

"Brittany. Definitely Brittany."

* * *

The two women spent the rest of the morning lazing on Santana's, short two-seater, couch talking. Sat at opposite ends, the women both had their legs outstretched, side by side, and allowed their fingertips brush comfortably against exposed feet, ankles and calves.

Santana told Brittany how in awe she felt watching her teach that day at the studio. She explained that she had marvelled at how effortlessly she moved and admired how wonderful she was with the group of students.

"Did you have to learn sign language just to teach that class?" Santana folded one leg underneath her and moved closer to Brittany.

"No, I've actually been fluent in ASL since I was a kid." Santana felt her eyes widen in surprise and was secretly very impressed. She found herself briefly distracted by thoughts of Marlee Matlin and Jennifer Beals in the L Word.

She quickly snapped out of this thought as Brittany went on to explain that after Becky was kept back, the teachers were impressed that she finally seemed to be making progress socially, but were at a loss as to how to help her improve her communications skills. They had been using a mixture of picture cards and sign language, as well as providing intense speech therapy. It wasn't until they noticed Brittany picking up some of the sign language Becky used with her Teacher Assistant, that they decided to teach sign language to the whole class.

"It just made sense to me. It was kind of like dancing with your hands. There were patterns and whole routines that you would need to remember for certain interactions and they all made sense in context. Becky continued with speech therapy and gradually started to improve, but they realised that some of her reluctance to communicate had come out of frustration. I mean, sure, there were physical reasons too, like most people with Downs have issues with low muscle tone and their mouths can be too shallow for the size of their tongue, but Becky just got so tired of being told she wasn't doing things right and of people talking around her as if she couldn't hear them. She didn't have a hearing loss and she just felt a bit grumpy at the world really. Signing gave her an outlet to show people she was able to think and make connections and overtime her speech eventually followed." Brittany explained the whole story as if it were no big deal, but Santana found it fascinating.

"You really care about her. She was lucky to be kept back in a way, otherwise she may never have met you or made the progress she did."

Brittany shook her head. "No way, I'm the lucky one. I struggled too. I was an undiagnosed dyslexic for half of my time at school and everyone thought I was just thick. I retained everything I was told and everything I saw before me, but when it came to reading and writing I had no hope. I could barely even manage the alphabet because I found similar shapes, like 'm' and 'n' confusing. If Becky hadn't been in my class I never would have learned to sign. Seeing me pick that up easily, gave the teachers an understanding that I was a physical learner and they adapted parts of their program to make it easier for me to show my understanding." Once again, Brittany shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

"Well," Santana said, moving up the couch until she was directly in front of Brittany, "…I think you're pretty amazing." She leaned down to kiss the blonde confidently, smiling into the kiss as she felt Brittany's tongue tickling her lip to ask for permission to enter. Both women sighed into the kiss and Santana felt a shiver down her spine as Brittany's fingertips trailed slowly down her neck and brushed against her collarbone.

Pulling back from Santana, Brittany locked her eyes on chocolate brown ones, which were only inches away, and her mouth turned upwards into a huge grin.

"What?" Santana asked, suddenly feeling unsure of herself.

"You're still here. You haven't run away this time. Does that mean that there can be a next time?" Brittany asked coyly.

"I was hoping for at least a few next times if that's okay by you?"

"That's very okay." Brittany winked.

Santana sat back against the couch so that she was sitting next to Brittany now. She leaned her head down, resting it against the girl's shoulder and she reached her left hand across Brittany's legs, pulling them towards her own. As they sat comfortably together in the middle of the day, two sets of feet up on the coffee table, Santana thought she was now certain of three things. a) In order to keep the job she loved, and get through her performance review, she would need to tread very carefully over the next two months, b) this weekend had been both the worst and the best she could remember and c) all of the above could be attributed to a Miss Brittany S. Pierce.

* * *

**So what do you think so far folks? Ready for a bit of drama to start brewing?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Get You Alone**

As much as Santana loved her job on the SRS, she was really beginning to loathe Monday mornings. While Karofsky was a jerk on a fairly regular basis, it seemed that by Monday he'd worked up enough ammunition, from whatever sad life he had over the weekends, and was ready to give her a full serve the moment they were in the same room. This Monday soon proved to be no different.

Santana walked into briefing and sat on the nearest chair, retying the laces on her boots which were already working loose. Glancing at her watch she noticed she still had a few minutes until Holly would arrive and strolled to the far end of the room and looked through the glass partition into Artie's control room.

Hundreds of buttons and dials flashed and no less than six different computer screens displayed anything from text, to maps, to the kids cartoon Artie appeared to be watching as he shovelled Cheerios into his mouth from a giant bowl, milk dripping from his chin. _Disgusting_.

Santana turned her attention to the digital case map displayed on the largest of the electronic screens in Artie's lair. While links to more minor cases were visible at the bottom of the screen, and could be made visible at the touch of a finger, the Flanagan vs. Herndandez case was arguably the most complex, ongoing case the SRS had tackled in some time.

Santana scanned the board for any new visuals which had been posted since she had viewed it on Friday. Quickly her eyes fell upon pale blue, noticing that Brittany's licence photo now appeared in the top right hand corner, directly above one of the many images of Brittany and Rory outside SpinFlex. Santana, who was certainly becoming familiar with conflicting emotions felt a warm feeling of satisfaction settle over her as she looked at the picture of the woman. As she lowered her gaze, this feeling quickly mixed with the thick taste of dread at knowing that, for whatever reason, those bastards had tried to involve Brittany in their fucked up scheme.

As Santana's mind flashed both with thoughts of drive by shootings and kisses from the woman now gracing the complex case map, she felt a presence beside her. Noticing it was Karofsky, Santana stepped aside, biting down on the inside of her cheek in lieu of making an offhand comment about her particular opinion regarding the man's existence.

"Hey Lezpez, Flanagan's daughter looks exactly like a whore I banged on a drinking binge in Amsterdam." His sickening smirk was followed by a hollow laugh, interrupted only by an unexpected contribution from Quinn.

"We all figured the only action you'd get is something you'd have to pay for Karofsky, thanks for confirming it for us." She glanced past him and offered a small smile to Santana who couldn't help but let out a small snort of laughter at the look on Karofsky's face.

Santana moved back towards the front of the room, taking a seat between Quinn and Mike. Turning to the man she nudged him before speaking to him in a low voice to avoid being overheard.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about Saturday. That won't happen again. I was out of line and it's really not how I work." She crossed her arms over her chest defensively, anticipating a harsh tone from Mike.

"I understand why you reacted the way you did, but you and I need to be on the same page 100% when we're on a call out. No more surprises, okay?" Santana nodded. "Just remember that most of the people we deal with will be involved in criminal activity and if they spot a weakness in us as a team, that can put everyone's safety at risk." Santana nodded again, grateful the man was using his regular, gentle tone with her. "Don't stress Santana. I know Saturday's circumstances were exceptional."

"Thanks Mike." She smiled at him once more before turning her attention to Shannon who was occupying Holly's regular spot next to Artie at the front of the room.

"Okay crew, Holly's running a bit late, she was called to an early morning gym session by Martinez. He's got something pretty juicy for us. She said to spend a half hour clearing your desks because there's a high chance this intel is going to require a fair degree of paperwork."

The group dispersed and Santana hung back to speak with Quinn who was sorting some papers on the vacant chair beside her. "Fill me in on Martinez? Who is he and why does his info rate so highly right now?"

"David Martinez is…"

"I thought he was your cousin." Karofsky spoke from behind the two women, who turned, scowling, at the interruption. "You know, I just figured Martin_ez_, Hernand_ez_, Lezp_ez_, aren't all you Spics related?"

Santana felt sick at the shock of how provocative this man had just become. "What the _hell_ did you just say Karofsky?"

Quinn held a hand towards Santana, standing at the same time she had and placing herself directly between the two officers. "Santana, you don't need to say anything." Quinn spoke quietly before turning her attention to Karofsky, her tone now changing dramatically. "Sergeant, you are well aware that you just crossed a line and you know there is a zero tolerance policy on racism and defamatory comments in the workplace. Senior Constable Lopez will be reporting this and I will sign off as her official witness. That level of disrespect and insubordination will not be tolerated." Quinn cleared her throat and stared at Karofsky until he walked out of the room, expressionless.

"What the fuck was that Quinn?" Santana questioned the woman reproachfully and was met with a confused expression.

"Santana, I really didn't expect you to say anything, but I assumed that anything you _did_ say might involve the word 'thanks'." She turned to walk away, clearly frustrated, but Santana caught her arm, turning the woman back towards her.

"Quinn, that prick has made cracks about my sexuality every couple of days since I started here. He has practically implied that I'm not even female! You've been there virtually every time and said nothing. One racist slur and you've started your own civil rights movement." Santana crossed her arms again, well aware she had been gesturing wildly throughout her tirade.

"You're spot on Santana," Quinn's tone was even now, but her face appeared to be a fusion of sadness and shame, "I've been there virtually every time." Santana watched as the woman walked out of the room without another word and was left completely dumbfounded by her response.

* * *

Shaking off her encounters with Quinn and Karofsky, Santana sought out Mike to ask him about David Martinez before Holly was due to return. She learned that he was, in fact, the undercover operative who had been working with the Hernandez family for over a year.

Originally he had been tasked with infiltrating their drug ring, but when the rivalry boiled over with Martin Flanagan, and resulted in two deaths in quick succession, his brief was altered somewhat. 'David Torres', as he was known undercover, had only made direct contact with Holly on three occasions during his present assignment and this spoke to the significance of the current liaison.

* * *

Holly arrived back at the SRS building just after the crew had gathered together in the briefing room for the second time that morning.

Still fuming over her encounters less than thirty minutes ago, Santana positioned herself in an empty seat between Mike and the door to guarantee she wouldn't be forced to sit with her least favourite people.

"Alright crew, you're going to looove me. Have_ I_ got _something_ for _you_!" She paused to take a long swig from the drink bottle on the table beside her. "Boy, that was _quite_ a work out, if you know what I mean. My eye muscles worked over time for that _whole_ hour." She drifted into a dreamlike state briefly before physically shaking herself back into the present moment.

"Sooo the super-hot Sergeant Martinez has just stumbled upon something HUGE." Artie wheeled himself around the room with a printed copy of an email to distribute to each of the officers. "He'd had suspicions for some time that the issue between the two families had something to do with Hernandez's daughter Eva. This email is just one of many which had been exchanged between Eva and Rory Flanagan. They were doing the _nasty_." Holly looked so pleased with herself and Santana wondered whether this woman was ever not on a high.

"So this connection gives us a motive for the Grand Hernad-I to off Rory. What it doesn't do is give us proof that they did, nor does it prove that the leprechauns took care of the nephew. Martinez discovered Eva's email password, which appears on your sheet, so SR 1 will spend any available desk time today inside Eva's email account looking for names, dates, events, anything that can give us more info on her relationship with Rory and who may or may not have known about it. Any questions?" Holly was silent for a few short moments. "Okay then. Now Santana can you put Saturday in context for all of us? This will head the major part of SR 2's ground work for the next couple of days." Holly stood aside, motioning for Santana to make her way to the front.

Wiping her palms down her trouser legs as she got up, Santana moved to the front of the group, clearing her throat before addressing her colleagues. "Saturday morning Holly and Artie discovered some photographs which proved that Brittany Pierce had met with Rory Flanagan the day before he died. Initially we had some suspicions that she had been dishonest about her knowledge of Rory and the family's dealings, but Mike and I questioned her extensively and she was able to produce evidence that he contacted her under false pretences. He used the alias 'James O'Donnell'. What we don't know is why." Santana nodded towards Holly before returning to her seat by the door.

"Thanks Santana, and thanks to Mike also. Both officers came in on their Saturday morning to get to the bottom of the matter. Your efforts are very much appreciated." She looked towards the pair, offering up a wink and Santana wondered if it was meant for her. "So SR 2 today you are tasked looking through Rory's email account. Artie hacked the password. You lot are looking for any communications to or from anyone, in which Brittany Pierce, her deceased mother Susan or the SpinFlex dance studio are mentioned. Any questions?"

When nobody showed signs of life Holly dismissed the group and they all headed to their desks to begin their searches.

* * *

As it turned out Rory Flanagan was an electronic hoarder. His account was set up with labelled and dated folders, but the labelling appeared almost arbitrary. While the labels themselves weren't particularly helpful, at a glance, it made his account easy to divide up between the four members of SR 2.

Directly after briefing, Artie had performed an initial scan of the entire email account, but his search showed up zero results for "Brittany Pierce", "Brittany Flanagan" or "SpinFlex". This confirmed that SR 2 would be required to manually search the account, looking for any words or phrases which could indicate setting up a meeting with Brittany.

Santana was tasked with looking through an extensive archived folder labelled 'Business A'. This included both sent and received messages from the past eighteen months. She was two hours in and two coffees down when she was distracted by a buzzing from her phone on the end of her desk. She laughed quietly to herself as she noticed the message was from 'Ginger'. The day before as Brittany was leaving her place, after breakfast stretched to lunch, she realised that even though they were able to contact each other via text, their display names on their phones would be a giveaway. Santana had decided she wanted to change 'Brittany Pierce' to the name of a dancer, but when she wracked her brain for options all she could think of were Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Brittany had laughed, saying that she could have reeled of fifty far more fitting suggestions. Santana then asked what Brittany had chosen to replace her identity in her phone.

"The name I used to refer to you for the first two days after we met."

"Which was?"

"Shay".

Santana opened up her message from 'Ginger' and covered her mouth with her hand to hide the smirk which had formed there.

_Been at work for an hour. Meant to be planning for the week. Planning has involved dancing around in a daze with a dopey smile on my face. Pretty sure it's your fault. _

Wondering if her own smile looked 'dopey' Santana quickly tapped out a response.

_Oh please! Not something else I need to apologise for! We've done breakfast and lunch. Next I'll need to grovel with dinner. Your place or mine?_

She slid her phone into her pocket, making an effort to at least look like she was concentrating on the task at hand while waiting for Brittany's response. Her pocket vibrated almost instantly.

_Don't care, as long as I get you alone :p_

* * *

By lunchtime Santana's eyes felt as though they were bulging out of their sockets after hours of reading between the lines in every message in Rory's 'Business A' folder. The only remote connection she had managed to turn up was a message Rory had received two months before his death with a single line reading "The studio is only open on weekdays."

Even if said studio was SpinFlex, there was nothing further in the folder which indicated anything else of relevance. When Artie tried to work his magic with the sender's address, it returned an invalid response claiming the account was no longer active. At present, Artie was trying to access the account via a series of 'backdoors' using the date of the email to Rory as a reference point.

* * *

After finishing off her cheese, turkey and cranberry focaccia, from the deli across the street, Santana made her way back to Artie in the control room to see if he'd had any luck.

As she was about to step into the room she was intercepted by Holly. "Follow me sweet cheeks, we've got stuff to talk about."

Santana frowned, but followed Holly down the corridor to her office and sat herself down. "Is this about Saturday again?"

"Saturday has been and gone. I trust your judgement and I don't think your pride would allow that to happen again. I also know that, despite constant hope, I am not an almighty power who can control anyone and everyone in the universe." Santana looked at Holly as if the woman had grown a second head.

"I'm sorry?"

"I can't control who you spend your time with Santana. I've said what I had to say to you in order for me to be seen to be doing my job, but ultimately you're going to make your own decision on that one. Or," Holly quickly tucked her legs up on her chair and assumed a meditative pose, "…the universe will decide for you."

"O-kay then. So what stuff do we need to talk about?" Santana eyed her unconventional boss and couldn't help but wonder if the woman had secretly just given her blessing for Santana to pursue something with Brittany.

"This," She handed Santana something which had been printed on official letterhead, "…is a signed statement from Senior Constable Quinn Fabray stating that on this date Sergeant David Karofsky made inappropriate and unacceptable remarks about the ethnic background of Senior Constable Santana Lopez. Quinn felt that an official reprimand was necessary and that this should go on Karofsky's permanent record. Being that these things were said to and about you, I felt it was best to get your take on the events, or at the very least, I'll be needing your signature."

Holly handed Santana a pen and she hesitated only briefly before signing above her printed name and title. "Did Quinn say anything else about Karofsky, besides this?"

Holly shook her head. "Nope, just said he's always being a prick to you and this time it crossed a line. Is there anything else you'd like me to add? I'm more than happy to stick two issues in his file."

Santana pondered her options. More so, she pondered why Quinn didn't feel it was necessary to report the ongoing issues and instead chose this completely unrelated incident to make a song and dance over.

"Holly, there was something else I thought I should mention…" Santana was interrupted by the buzzing of her phone in her pocket. Seeing Sugar's name appear on the screen she relaxed and excused herself to take the call.

"Well hello. Have you been able to concentrate on _any_ of your classes today?" Santana smiled, knowing that Brittany would appreciate the flirtatious tone in her voice.

"Senior Constable, this is Sugar Motta."

Santana cringed and felt a flush of humiliation take over her neck and cheeks. "I apologise Miss Motta, I assumed you were Brittany."

"Yes, I got that, look Britt's received calls on the half hour since ten this morning. She's been teaching and completely missed all of them. If they keep going at this rate, call number seven is due in five minutes time. Britt's taken a cab three blocks to the After Dark cinema and she's going to try and keep them talking. I really don't think these calls are a coincidence, do you."

Santana could hear the concern in Sugar's voice and felt it envelope her own in response. "No, I think these calls are something to worry about after all. Sugar, keep me posted and get her to phone me as soon as she gets back. We'll monitor it as best we can from here."

Santana ended the call and ran back down the corridor to Artie.

"When did you last check Brittany Pierce's call log?"

"I haven't looked at it since this morning, I've been trying to sort out this email situation." Artie's tone was defensive, but Santana had no time to slate him.

"Abrams, she's been getting calls all day and she has predicted the next one is about to come through. She's going to answer which means you need to get your tracking gear running at top speed. If this _is_ the Irish, we could get a location."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks again to those who have taken the time to review. Follow me on tumblr and check out manips of Senior Constable Santana Lopez and Senior Constable Quinn Fabray! balexi dot tumblr dot com**


	12. Chapter 12

**As always, thanks for your reviews. It has been a mad couple of weeks finishing up at work, but really wanted to update before Xmas. I appreciate everyone's patience. There is a lot going on in the background of this story and I really want to time it right as it unfolds.**

**Merry Xmas : )**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Connecting**

Brittany hopped out of the cab and threw some money at the driver muttering a distracted _thanks_ through the window. She didn't know why she'd decided on the cinema, but now that Sugar was calling Santana to alert her, she didn't want to change her mind.

She stared anxiously at the digital time displayed on her phone. _Two minutes_. The churning in the pit of her stomach, which had begun almost half an hour ago, was making her feel sick. _One minute._ Brittany frowned, shaking her head at herself as it dawned on her that the Flanagan clan knew where she worked. There had been no point driving to another location. Rory had found her at the studio. _What if-_

Her phone vibrated in her hand a split second before her ring tone began, filling her ears despite the sounds of traffic and idle conversation all around her. She licked her lips and swallowed, her mouth abnormally dry as she slid her phone open and hovered a shaking thumb over the handset button for a long moment before pressing down. Bringing the phone to her ear she mustered up the most calm tone possible.

"Hello, Brittany speaking."

"Hello, Miss Pierce?" A female voice unexpectedly filled the line.

"Yes, that's me." Brittany felt her brow furrow and she glanced around frantically, suddenly wary that she might be being watched.

"Ah, Miss Pierce, I'm so glad to finally catch you. My name is Sylvia Henderson and I am calling from Onyx Security. We specialise in affordable security options for young business owners and our present focus has been on businesses in your local area."

"O-kay then. So if you've been unable to contact me, why not contact my business partner Sugar Motta?" Brittany knew to be suspicious, but she was also strangely unnerved by the genuine tone of the other woman. Her main priority was to keep Sylvia Henderson talking in the hopes that Santana and the others at the SRS would be able to secure a location.

"SpinFlex is registered in your name Miss Pierce, with an Al Motta registered as co-owner. A quick Google search indicated that Sugar Motta was a second instructor at your studio, but nothing in the registered business details lists her as a contributing party. Would you prefer I direct my questions about your studio's security to Miss Motta?" The woman's voice remained sincere and again Brittany felt strangely concerned by this.

"No, go ahead. What would you like to know?"

"Well, as I mentioned, we provide affordable security packages to young business owners, understanding that the security of new businesses is paramount to their continued success, but that young business owners may not necessarily have the financial backing for elaborate security options. If you could give me details of any current security measures you have taken at SpinFlex, our technicians can then visit the premises and provide a free quote for a more comprehensive package."

Brittany shook her left arm in order the reveal her watch from under the sleeve of her top. They had been talking for a little over two minutes. Brittany knew that she would need to keep the other woman talking for at least another thirty seconds, but needed to do so while avoiding directly answering the woman's question.

"Miss Pierece, are you there?"

"Yes, sorry, ah, I was just checking my schedule, I have a class starting soon so I'll need to go, but could you give me the name of your company again and I will contact you to arrange that free quote."

"Onyx Security. O-N-Y-X. If you like Miss Pierece I can send you out some information which will include an outline of our three most popular and cost effective packages." Brittany was surprised that the woman appeared unfazed by Brittany ending the call.

"Thank you." Brittany glanced at her watch again. _Over the three minute mark_. "I appreciate your call. I'll be in touch." Brittany was about to end the call when she heard the other woman speak up on the other end of the line.

"Ah, Miss Pierce?"

"Yes?"

"I'll give you a week to look over our packages and then I'll check back in with you. Take care."

* * *

The beeping in her ear sent a chill down her spine. The woman ended the call on her terms and was explicit about making contact again. Brittany wondered if she didn't answer the call in a week, whether the woman would persist. Feeling confused and overwhelmed, she walked over to the steps of the cinema and sat down, shoulders slumped and phone clenched tightly in her right hand.

Thousands of thoughts swam through her mind, but the only clear one was that she needed to get back to the studio to call Santana. The idea of only being able to text her, unless an alternate phone was in reach, was frustrating, but she also imagined that Santana would be concerned if she didn't hear from her.

_All okay, heading back to studio now. Will call from Sugar's in ten._

Even though she had taken a cab to cinema, Brittany decided to walk back needing to clear her head somewhat. She felt the buzz of a text message in her jacket pocket and smiled seeing she had a response from 'Shay'.

_Good job, got a trace on this end. I'll be there in twenty to get the details…and to see you : )_

Brittany instantly felt like a blanket had been wrapped around her. She felt warm and less exposed than she had been on the steps of the cinema and she picked up her pace. Walking past Mawson Electronics, Brittany paused and turned back to look in the window. A florescent pink sign was advertising an iPhone at a discounted price as a newer model, displayed in a picture beside it, was due to be released the following week. Without thinking twice she walked into the store and spent the next twenty minutes with a sales clerk organising a new number and getting a quick lesson on how the phone worked. The young man scoffed at her when she asked if she could make a FaceTime call, making some snide remark about 2011, and he had also raised an eyebrow when she assured him that she did want to keep her current phone. Apparently it was so old she would have to input all her contact details manually as there were no compatible cables in the whole store to hook it up to a computer and it didn't have Bluetooth compatibilities. _Whatever that meant_.

Glancing at her watch, Brittany realised that Santana would probably be waiting for her and she ran the rest of the way to the studio.

* * *

Arriving slightly out of breath she smiled to herself as she saw the form of a uniform clad Santana through the glass panel in the front door of the studio.

"Where have you been? You said you'd be here fifteen minutes ago." Brittany flinched at Santana's tone but saw only concern in the other woman's eyes.

"Sorry. I got held up." Brittany slipped the Mawson Electronics bag behind the front counter casually. "Come on, let's talk in my office." She placed her hand against Santana's lower back and gave her a soft push in the direction of the office.

Closing the door behind them Brittany made to take off her jacket, but was stopped by Santana pushing her, almost forcefully, against the door. Santana's lips met hers with just as much force, but she smiled into the kiss, relaxing as she felt warm breath mixing with her own. Santana's hands caressed her cheeks lightly and when she eventually pulled away, taking a deep breath, she leant her forehead against Brittany's.

"I was really worried about you. Next time you get phone stalked by a crazy person don't even think about going shopping, okay?" Santana's voice was gentle and her fingertips running down Brittany's arm to her hand, where she intertwined their fingers, assured her that she wasn't angry.

"I'm fine." Brittany rolled her eyes playfully and grabbed Santana's chin, pulling her forward for another quick kiss. "So you said you got a trace on the call?"

Santana nodded and moved her hands down to rest on Brittany's hips. "Yeah we…"

"Hang on. Why are you here?" Brittany interrupted, suddenly confused.

"Britt, I was worried about you. I needed to make sure you were okay." Santana looked almost offended by the question.

Brittany sighed "I know that. Thank you. I'm really glad that you're here. I just mean, I thought your boss pulled you off my case?"

Santana relaxed again and reached up to twirl strands of Brittany's hair around her fingers as she spoke. "I asked her to reassign me, but she sent me down here, I mean, I asked and she was fine with it, made out to the others as though she'd instructed me to come and question you." Santana laughed and Brittany felt her own face break into a wide grin at the sight of the other woman so relaxed.

"Does she know about what's going on here?" Brittany looked away shyly, realising they hadn't really talked about it themselves, and rubbed her thumb nervously against Santana's fingers.

"What _is_ going on here?" Santana's voice lowered and her eyes lit up playfully as a smirk formed on her lips.

Brittany felt herself blush, but tried to cover it quickly by grabbing Santana's hips and turning them around so their positions were reversed. Brittany relished in the look of surprise on the Latina's face and reached down, grabbing both of Santana's wrists in her hands and holding them against the door, above her head. Santana's eyes widened and Brittany was sure she saw a flush creep across tanned cheeks as she leant in, placing a delicate kiss against those inviting lips. Feeling bold she moved down, placing a single kiss against the woman's jaw. Encouraged by a sudden change in Santana's breathing she continued, trailing kisses down her neck. Adjusting her hands so that one now held both of Santana's wrists, she reached her other hand down to undo the top two buttons of the royal blue shirt. Moving the collar aside, she let her fingertips dance lightly across the woman's collarbone, eliciting a whimper which turned into a satisfied groan when her fingertips were replaced by her lips.

Pulling away suddenly she covered her mouth to stifle a laugh as Santana's arms fell limply at her side and her eyes which had been closed in pleasure, sprang back open.

"Nothing at all." Brittany whispered into Santana's ear, smiling as she felt the woman shiver against her.

"What?"

"There's nothing going on here at all." Her smirk turned to a chuckle as she sauntered over to a chair, intentionally swaying her hips more than usual. Patting the one next to her she indicated that Santana should take a seat beside her and felt a sense of satisfaction watching the woman try to compose herself before walking over.

"So Officer. What did you need to ask me?"

"Britt, stop playing. Ah," Santana shook her head and turned in her chair, taking a deep breath. "…okay. We got a trace to a nearby residence which is registered under the business name Onyx Security. Just tell me everything the guy on the phone said."

"It was a woman and she told me she was calling from Onyx Security."

Both woman raised their eyebrows before Brittany continued, filling Santana in on every detail she could remember as the officer scrawled copious notes on a pad.

* * *

At 3:15pm, after the woman had discussed every possible detail, Brittany stood up and apologetically announced that she had a class in fifteen minutes.

Heading to the door, Brittany reached out and took Santana's hand and pulled her in for a hug. "Thank you." She whispered.

"For what?" Santana loosened her grip from around Brittany's neck and rested her arms on the taller girl's shoulders so they were looking into each other's eyes.

"For caring. For being here." Brittany felt tears stinging the backs of her eyes. She had a lot of people who cared about her and who would look out for her, but it had been a long time since she had felt a connection to another person like this.

"Can I see you tonight?"

Brittany felt the fine hairs on her arms stand up as Santana's fingertips stroked the back of her neck and she sighed into the touch.

"Ah, Sugar and Becky will both be home tonight. Your place?" Even though she wasn't certain as to what Santana was suggesting she was hoping to finally be able to release the tension which had been building inside her over the past hour_. The past week._

Santana shook her head. "Mercedes is cooking for her new boyfriend tonight. They haven't seen each other for a couple of days." She shook her head slowly and her brow furrowed.

Brittany reached out and ran her thumb along Santana's forehead to smooth out the creases.

"Bugger." She wracked her brain for an alternative and stopped short of suggesting they meet up in a hotel room on the off chance Santana wasn't thinking along the same lines. "Will you come and see a movie with me?"

Santana smiled and then her expression fell. "Brittany…" her voice trailed off, "…we can't really be seen out together. I'm sorry I know this is shitty but I…"

Brittany cut her off placing a finger to her lips. "Let's not be seen together then. If I just happen to be sitting up the back of a darkened cinema enjoying my popcorn, what's to stop a seriously hot, off duty cop from sitting down next to me? We show up separately, we leave separately, but we…can miss the most important parts of the movie _together_." She felt her heart begin to race in her chest as their eyes met and Santana's smile widened knowingly. Placing a long kiss against Brittany's lips, Santana moved away reluctantly and reached for the door handle before turning back to look at the blonde.

"Deal."

* * *

**A/N: Hmmmm...**

**Will try to update again before New Years :0)**

**Review please :0)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Well would you look at this.**

**Xmas Eve in Australia and check out what Santa has left out for you all. And, yes, he's _that_ kind of Santa. Enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 13: After Dark**

After heading back to the SRS warehouse, Santana filled her colleagues in on Brittany's conversation with Sylvia Henderson. Artie had done some background work after they traced the call to Onyx Security and found that it had been in operation for only a few short months. They had, in fact, provided security to a small handful of local businesses, all of whom were owned or managed by people under the age of 35. Everything Sylvia Henderson had told Brittany checked out, except for one important detail. Sylvia Henderson, herself, did not exist.

Santana sat down with Artie, reluctantly, and made a list of all alternative spellings for the name and other similar names which may have been misheard by Brittany. She even phoned the blonde to make sure the error was not in her own notes.

Onyx Security was registered to a Richard Forde who also appeared to have connections with at least three other security companies around the State. Artie located a driver licence photograph of the man who appeared to be older than the 40 years his date of birth declared. He had a full head of greying dark hair, blue eyes framed by thick rimmed glasses and thick greying moustache and beard.

* * *

The day dragged for Santana, who left work feeling incredibly dissatisfied at the constant dead ends her work had returned. As she turned her key in her front door, her phone vibrated against her thigh in the back pocket of her jeans and she smiled, reaching for it as she pushed open the front door.

She fumbled with the phone, nearly tripping over to prevent it careening to the floor as she was startled by a muffled squeal upon closing the front door. Turning, she saw Mercedes and a floppy haired blonde, she could only assume to be Sam, shuffling about in an effort to appear to be casually seated side by side on the couch. _Serious fail_.

"Santana! I didn't expect you to be home. Tina text to say you had a 'date' after work." Santana scoffed at Mercedes trying to catch her breath as she spoke, placing air quotes around the word _date_, and she walked over to the two on the couch.

"Santana Lopez," she held out her hand to the man who looked every bit like a Mattel Ken doll, but with the biggest lips she'd ever seen, "…you must be Sam."

The man shook her hand, looking mildly sheepish. "It's great to finally meet you Santana, Mercedes has talked a lot about you and Tina. Rachel has told me a lot about you too."

Santana felt her eyes narrow. "Berry? What could _she_ possibly have to say about _me_. We barely know each other."

"She's just told me how incredibly talented you were-are," he corrected himself, "…she said that with a voice like yours you are wasted in the police force." Santana felt bad for taking a tone with the man she'd only just met and tried to sound good-humoured as she responded, avoiding the desire to lace her comment with too much cynicism.

"Well, she's probably right there, although I personally think that with aggression like mine, I would be wasted in a sound booth." The three shared a slightly tense laugh and Santana reached out to grab Mercedes' hand, dragging her into the kitchen.

Once they were out of Sam's sight, Santana quizzed her best friend wordlessly, arms crossed over her chest and one eyebrow arched.

"Girl, don't you dare give me that look, Tina told me what you got up to here on the weekend, I knew you'd find a way to tap that blonde from the club. Got it out of your system now?" It was now Mercedes' turn to cross her arms over her chest and send the same challenging glare back to Santana.

"Well FYI Wheezy, I didn't _tap that_. She is my 'date' for tonight. You just need to promise not to mention anything to your boy there or the Beans, okay?" Santana's quip turned into a plea and Mercedes nodded in understanding.

"The case?"

"Yeah, and possibly more involved than we realised." Santana's eyes were downcast.

"Santana!" Mercedes scolded.

"No, not like that, she's possibly being set up or something. They're messing with her. She's completely innocent."

"You sure?" Mercedes face was full of concern for her friend and the look in her eye hit an unexpected nerve in Santana.

"I'm sure, okay!" Her raised voice hung in the kitchen as she stormed to her room, carefully selecting an outfit before heading to the bathroom to shower.

* * *

Pulling her tight green and black striped dress over her head, Santana gave herself a satisfied smile in the mirror, noticing it covered only a quarter of her toned thighs.

Checking her phone, she realised she hadn't read, or replied to, the first text she assumed to be from Brittany.

_Ginger: Come to the After Dark Cinema around 7:45. I'll be up the back of cinema 3…waiting : )_

Santana smiled as the unease, she had felt earlier, dissipated. She tapped out a response with her left thumb as she reached for her black knee high boots with the other hand, pulling them out from the bottom of her cupboard one at a time.

_Looking forward to it : )_

As she finished zipping up her boots, she fished around in her cupboard for her sleeveless black cropped jacket. The buzzing from the phone on her bed elicited another grin as she reached for it.

_Ginger: You will receive a call from an unknown number in about 20 seconds. Answer it :)_

Santana glanced at the clock as she sat down on the end of her bed, crossing her legs. They still had over an hour until the movie was due to start and she was happy that Brittany was clearly unable to wait to speak with her again. As she ran her fingers through her long locks, flicking them impatiently, her phone buzzed once more. Frowning she looked closer at the screen which was, indeed displaying an unknown number, but the small text underneath said that the above number wanted to FaceTime. The black screen filled with Santana's own face reflected back at her as she pressed the green 'Accept' button and waited while the call connected.

An adorably surprised Brittany was wide eyed when she saw the beaming face of Santana looking back at her. Flicking her own hair and studying her own face close up, she peered directly into the phone.

"Hi!"

"Hi yourself. Did you rob an old lady for this phone or did Becky get an upgrade?"

"Well the sales guy treated me like an old lady. This is so awesome. I'm going to ring people like this all the time now!" Brittany bounced up and down on her own bed now and Santana felt slightly dizzy watching the shaky image in front of her.

"So this is your phone then? Please tell me you didn't chuck the other one!" Santana panicked, placing a clenched fist to her mouth, worried that in her enthusiasm the dancer may have forgotten that they needed her to keep her old phone to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.

Brittany held the other one up to the screen by way of explanation.

"Thank goodness! Okay so tell me what movie is cinema three showing tonight?" Santana cocked an eyebrow and smirked at the gorgeous blonde who was wearing a loose top which fell to one side exposing a pale shoulder.

Brittany shrugged, "Can't even remember what it's called to be honest but I think Frieda Pinto is in it and I love her. Filipino is my favourite colour."

Santana starred at the girl, unsure of which part of that statement was the most absurd. "You do know she's Indian, right? And Filipino is like a whole nationality, not really a shade!"

Brittany looked genuinely confused for a moment. "Okay, but Shay Mitchell is _definitely_ Filipino. She's hot and you're…amazing." Santana tried to stifle a laugh and felt herself melt slightly at the genuine look on Brittany's face.

"Okay, you get points for Shay, but Britt…you _do_ know I'm Hispanic, right. I mean…I've been told the whole _Lopez_ part is a bit of a giveaway."

Brittany feigned shock, letting her jaw go comically slack. "No way! I totally thought you were Asian…or maybe Lebanese." Santana was pleased the other woman giggled at this point as she was beginning to have serious concerns about her observation skills. "Of course I figured you were Hispanic. My first major girlfriend in High School was too. She was almost as hot as you. I also dated a Filipino girl for a while and, not even shitting you, I totally dated a Lebanese guy for like, maybe a day." Santana doubled over with laughter at the expressions on Brittany's face.

"What was the name of the Hispanic girl you dated? She's probably my cousin." Santana joked, having explained the Karofsky drama to Brittany earlier in the day.

"Oh, okay, its funny now is it? Well her name was Sofia Ramos. She was in a show choir too actually, so weird that seems to be a theme in all my relationships!"

"How so?"

"Well literally every serious relationship I've had has been tied to show choirs somehow." Brittany gazed upward, deep in thought and counted the girls on her fingers as she reeled each one off to Santana. "You're an ex-Troubletone, Erica was in The New Directions, Rain's sister joined us for like, a week maybe, and then was seconded to Vocal Adrenaline, but I guess Rain was never in a show choir herself, Shel coached a couple of different ones and Sofia went to Jane Addams and we met when they came to McKinley to use our auditorium and…"

"Wait. You actually dated a Jane Addams girl? What the hell did she do?" Santana was intrigued, if not mildly concerned. Ainsley Mills girls were at the top of the local school _and_ social hierarchy and the two _never_ mixed. The all girls Ainsley Mills Academy and their brother school Dalton Academy were the places to send your children if you had a reputation to uphold or had a major superiority complex. Both Santana and Tina's fathers were doctors and Mercedes father begun his career as a dentist and then went on to become a Maxillofacial surgeon. Mixing with juvenile delinquents was never going to be an option.

"She was kind of done for possession after she beat a girl up, but the drugs weren't hers and the girl _totally_ deserved it." Brittany spoke with all the conviction of a High Schooler defending their girlfriend and Santana thought she was adorable. She raised an eyebrow in response and was met with a strong defence.

"Hey, now you can't tell me that with that feisty attitude of yours you never took someone to the carpet!"

"Oh, don't you worry, I went _ALL_ Lima Heights _several_ times at A Mills, but the others would have been too scared to report me!" Santana couldn't help the smug look which formed on her face at the thought. She had been _pretty_ powerful in High School.

"Okay so now imagine that the Principal or the cops got called and in the scuffle someone had dropped a bag of pot into your pocket. The cops obviously got involved and they even dusted the bag for prints and it came up clean, but they _still_ pinged her for it."

Santana held her right hand towards the phone in surrender. "It's okay Britt. I believe you. And her, but there's no way she could have been as hot as me." Santana teased, wanting to hear Brittany compliment her again.

"I said she went close. _Very_ close." Brittany's low tone sent a chill up Santana's spine and she shook her head to make the feeling pass.

"Okay, well maybe you can tell me about her later, but I needs to finish gettin' ready if I'm gonna make _my_ hot date tonight."

"You have a hot date?" Brittany flirted.

"The hottest!" Santana bit her bottom lip, winking at Brittany and smugly ended the call before she even said goodbye.

* * *

Santana looked herself over in the mirror once again and smiled in approval. Poking her head out her bedroom door she snuck down the hallway and through the kitchen hoping to avoid another Samcedes snogfest. She scanned the living room and couldn't help but smile as she saw the two of them sitting at the small dining table in the corner speaking in low voices and staring at each other longingly. As she moved towards the door she caught Mercedes' eye and offered up a friendly wink and a quick wave before heading out.

Taking a cab to the cinema, Santana rested her head against the back seat and watched the scenery as they passed by. In the twenty minutes it took her to reach the cinema she contemplated the last three weeks of her life. All told, it felt more like three months. While she would usually be getting high off the pace of the job and a case like their present one, her current position weighed her down and she knew she wasn't approaching the job they way the old Santana would have. The pre-Brittany Santana. Pre-_feelings_ Santana.

* * *

Entering the complex, Santana checked the screening in cinema three and purchased a ticket and a drink. As she walked up the ramp and turned heading down towards 3, she felt a nervous energy take over her body and, embarrassingly, she felt her palms grow clammy.

Santana walked through the heavy double doors and up the staircase which lead to the chairs. Looking around she saw barely more than two or three other people scattered throughout the cinema. Standing on the walkway separating the upper tier from the lower, she spotted Brittany sitting in a row second from the back. If the blonde had seen her arrive, she showed no signs of it.

Santana walked gingerly up the nine stairs, which were poorly lit by small bulbs on the outer rows of seating. Arriving at Brittany's row she smiled, making her way along to the middle.

"Excuse me. Is this seat taken?" Santana played.

Brittany looked up at the girl, face impassive and simply shook her head before returning to her popcorn and taking another handful.

Santana couldn't help grinning foolishly at the other woman's game and made herself comfortable in the next seat, placing her drink in the armrest cup holder and her purse at her feet. On her way back upright, Santana couldn't help stealing a glance at the incredibly long, toned legs which were bare and crossed only inches away from her. She had to resist the urge to reach out and run her fingertips along them, but this didn't stop her following them with her eyes, all the way to Brittany's criminally short denim skirt.

With no further acknowledgement from Brittany, Santana decided to play along and sipped at her drink while facing the front, struggling to maintain her aim of not glancing to her left.

Santana's patience wasn't tested for long as Brittany broke their silence after only the first five minutes of the film.

"So I take it you're fluent in French then, or German I suppose?" Brittany's question was whispered so casually that, had the cinema been more crowded, any observer would assume they were complete strangers.

Santana looked at her, confused and Brittany chuckled softly. There hadn't been any dialogue yet so the question made no sense. She watched the characters on the screen for another moment and when the man tripped after getting out of his car he clearly cursed, but the word was unfamiliar to Santana, as was the word which appeared at the bottom of the screen.

"You do realise this is a French film right. German subtitles? Monday is German night in cinema 3. Every Monday night they either screen a German film or, like tonight, a film with German subtitles." The blonde whispered.

Santana starred at the dancer wide-eyed and leant close to Brittany's ear. "So what language do you speak?"

Brittany shuddered slightly feeling the warm breath against her cheek, but now looked back at Santana with her own confused expression. "Umm..English, I thought that much would be clear." In a throw-back to their earlier conversation about nationalities, Santana was unsure as to whether Brittany was serious or having her on.

"Well, your English is fantastic, but I meant out of French or German." Santana's whisper had now evolved into a low speaking voice and she concentrated on the woman's face as she waited for a response.

"Neither. You?" _Ah_! Santana sighed in mild frustration.

"Neither! What are we doing here Britt?" Santana leant forward in her seat and turned so that she was almost facing the girl, aware that their bare knees were now painfully close.

"Hey, how did you know my name? Do we know each other? Wait a minute, I'd know that face anywhere. It's Sofia, right?" Brittany was unable to contain her amusement at her own joke and Santana offered up a playful backhanded slap to her arm.

"Brittany!" she warned, and then glanced quickly toward the front of the cinema to make sure no one had heard her outburst.

"What?" The blonde now dropped her eyes, purposefully playing up the wounded puppy look, complete with childlike pout.

"You did _not_ invite _me_ to a movie neither of us are going to understand to tease me with thoughts of your ex-girlfriend." Santana crossed her arms over her chest and looked away in mock frustration.

Feeling Brittany's bare legs move slowly against her own, Santana's eyes fluttered closed momentarily, but she still trained her stare in the other direction. This became increasingly difficult when she felt Brittany's whole body move closer to her and soft, slender fingers touched her cheek, coaxing her gaze in the other direction. With her desire to kiss Brittany far outweighing her desire to win, she turned back towards the woman and felt her pulse rate quicken as she locked with pale blue eyes.

"That's true actually. But I totally _did_ invite you here to tease you."

Santana sighed involuntarily and her brow creased, but she managed not to drop her gaze away from the captivating eyes in front of her.

Reaching her own hand out now to cup a pale cheek, Santana brought the other woman closer to her and placed small tender kisses to her lips, whispering between each one. "You're. Doing. A. Very. Good. Job."

Both girls were startled from their reverie by obnoxious laughter coming from the big screen and an echo of this from the man sitting on his own in the very front row of the cinema.

Sitting back in her chair now, Santana turned side on slightly and extended a hand towards the armrest, allowing a single fingertip to make its way from Brittany's hand to the inside of her elbow.

Slipping immediately back into character Brittany turned to Santana with a look of mock horror on her face. "Do you mind? I'm trying to watch a movie here!" Brittany finished her little act with an exaggerated sigh.

_That's fine_, Santana thought. _Two can play at this game_.

* * *

Santana stared intently at the screen for what seemed like hours. She understood none of it and was further confused by the fact that Freida Pinto was nowhere to be seen. _That's because she's not French_. Santana gritted her teeth in frustration. Brittany wasn't giving in and her own stubborn nature meant she didn't want to be the first one to cave.

Bending down, she reached for her purse and unzipped it, then pressed the home key on her phone to check the time. _8:25. Right this has gone on long enough._

Santana took her time zipping up her purse and scooted forward on her seat before bending slowly down to place it back on the floor under her chair. If Brittany was watching she would have had a perfect view of her arse in that tight tight dress. Arching her back slightly as she sat back up, she allowed her left hand to lightly trace the curve of Brittany's calf. If the other woman had been wearing jeans, she wouldn't have even felt the gentle tickle on her skin.

Despite the volume of the ridiculous movie, Santana heard Brittany's sharp intake of breath and allowed a satisfied grin to form on her lips. Sitting back up, she let two fingers slide slowly along the armrest before she relaxed fully against it. Her other hand trailed from her own knee and along her thigh as she crossed her legs, angling them towards Brittany while keeping her eyes trained on the big screen.

A short moment later, Santana felt tender fingers brush her hair away from her neck and felt Brittany's breath against her ear. Her satisfied smile grew even wider as she realised she had broken the other woman's resolve. This smile was quickly replaced, however, with a look of genuine shock at Brittany's next words.

"Well, I'm impressed. Half an hour is a long time to resist me, but you caved first so - I win."

Santana turned to see Brittany looking very pleased with herself and if it hadn't been for the way the dancer's lips glistened in the half light as she ran her tongue over them, she may have even considered maintaining her pout for a little longer. Instead, she gave in completely as those lips met her neck and ascended slowly and ever so delicately towards her earlobe.

Her head fell back against the seat and she reached a hand up to Brittany's neck and coaxed the woman closer to her. She gasped audibly as Brittany reached over and slowly unzipped the small black jacket she was wearing. Smiling against Brittany's lips she remembered how low the neckline of her dress was and pulled back to give Brittany a clear view of exactly what that jacket had been hiding.

Smirking, she watched Brittany's eyes travel downwards and widen as she glimpsed Santana's full cleavage. Swiping a tongue across her lips again, Brittany didn't hesitate to trace Santana's neckline with light kisses once more. This time, however, she kept moving downwards, flicking out her tongue to lick along Santana's collarbone before moving even lower. As her lips moved against the bare flesh at the top of Santana's left breast, her other hand moved up to trace against the exposed caramel skin on her right.

Santana felt a rush of heat between her thighs and, breathing getting heavier now, she turned needing to feel her hands move against Brittany in the same way. Reaching towards the blonde's waist Santana moved the loose black material of Brittany's top and let her fingertips graze perfectly toned abs. As Brittany whimpered at the touch and brought her lips to Santana's, kissing her deeply, Santana felt wetness pooling where heat had been before.

When Brittany's fingertips found Santana's crossed legs, tracing circles on her knee, she immediately uncrossed them and parted them slightly, as much as her tight dress would allow. Brittany's long fingers danced carefully along her inner thigh. A slow, playful dance. Santana gasped against Brittany's mouth, as she rolled her hips down into the chair and she felt Brittany smiling against her.

Brittany's fingertips were heading painfully close to where she desperately wanted them to be and, had the seats been wider, and this not a public venue, she would have moved to straddle the woman by now. Instead she kissed the dancer even more deeply, moving her tongue rhythmically against Brittany's.

Just as she was about to guide those pale fingers to where she needed them, she was shaken from her haze by loud clapping towards the front of the cinema. Afraid, momentarily to look around, she turned to Brittany, eyes wide in horror, assuming they'd been caught.

Brittany placed an innocent kiss to Santana's forehead and angled her face towards the front of the cinema, stifling a giggle.

The credits were rolling, detestable musical accompaniment in the background, and down the very front of the cinema stood an old man, clapping joyfully towards the screen.

Santana sighed and deflated completely into the chair, relieved and restless at once.

As Brittany made to stand up, Santana pulled her back down abruptly.

"And where do you think you're going?" She realised her tone was demanding, but there was a lot of pent up tension behind her words.

"Um, San, the movie is over," she gestured towards the screen, stifling a giggle, "…we need to leave before anyone sees us together." Brittany looked amused, but also mildly apologetic at the statement.

Santana gritted her teeth and let out a guttural moan, clenching her fists against the armrests.

"Frustrated?" Brittany tormented.

"Ah, you've got _no_ idea!" Santana couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with the woman, not trusting her own resolve.

"Um, trust me, I _really_ do." Brittany's lowered voice and sent a jolt all the way through Santana, forcing her to close her eyes.

Brittany got up to leave again and, looking around first, leant down to place a lingering kiss against Santana's lips.

"Wait five minutes before you leave, okay? I'll talk to you tomorrow." The blonde followed this up with a suggestive wink and Santana called out after her.

"Hey, did you know this would be a short movie?"

Brittany turned and flashed a cheeky smile, responding with a shrug and a single word, "Maybe."

Santana shook her head and slumped down in her seat. _Fucking tease_.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks again to my regular reviewers - keep it up, I'm more inclined to update often if I know I have interest. To guests, thanks also - very much appreciated.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi all- on holidays for a month so will see how much I can churn out between now and then. Particular thanks to BetTheDuckIsInTheHat, Cactusgirl 329, SB & r.e.l - you guys seem to be my most regular reviewers and it makes the late nights a bit more worthwhile.**

**Anyway - moving right along...**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Off Guard **

After heading home from the cinema in a daze, Santana changed and went to bed, falling into a restless sleep almost immediately. She dreamt about show choirs, Irish tattoos and cinema chairs, all accompanied by words she didn't understand. At 4 am, one hour before her alarm had been set to wake her, a persistent tapping against her wall startled her out of another dream. When the tapping fell in time with panting and occasional giggling, Santana's stomach turned and she rolled over, covering her head with her pillow in an effort to muffle what was clearly Sam giving Mercedes and early morning wake up call.

With the pillow not serving its purpose, Santana jumped out of bed and grabbed her laptop and headphones off her makeshift desk in the corner. Opening the lid, she turned the volume up high as she slipped on the headphones and hoped that her computer would quickly respond to the frantic tapping of the mouse. Opening iTunes, she clicked on a random playlist and then double clicked the first song on the list.

Florence + the Machine's _Dog Days are Over_ filled her ears and put her at ease. She'd always loved that song. It had been her original suggestion before the Troubletones decided on _Shake it Out_ the year she, Mercedes and Tina first became friends.

Relaxed now and reminiscing, Santana opened up YouTube and typed in 'Troubletones'. She smiled to herself as the search returned almost twenty results. Clicking on their performance of Adele's _Rumour Has It_ and _Someone Like You_, she relaxed back into her pillows and let the music soothe her, distracting from the obscene behaviour likely happening in the room next-door.

Watching herself and her girls when they were younger brought back so many memories and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as her own voice combined flawlessly with Mercedes'.

Curious, Santana typed 'New Directions' into the search bar and was not surprised to see almost double their results returned. Santana clicked on a few of the videos and strained her eyes looking for her hot blonde dancer in the background. It took her a few videos before she found a rendition of Lady Gaga's _Born This Way_. An expressive boy sang the majority of the song with backup from several other singers and the whole group were wearing white t-shirts with various words emblazoned on them. The boy with all the solos wore a shirt saying 'Like's Boys' and Santana frowned when she saw Brittany and a boy with a hideous Mohawk dancing together with matching shirts. Both shirts said 'I'm with stoopid', but an arrow on Brittany's pointed upwards where the boy's pointed down. Santana frowned as Brittany's words from their conversation on the weekend played over in her head. "_I'm certainly no stranger to being treated like an idiot_…"

She closed down the video feeling angry and uncomfortable with the notion of anyone treating Brittany with anything less than full respect. Santana also found herself feeling frustrated that the clips all focussed on the vocalists and she was only able to catch glimpses of Brittany dancing in the background, just as she had said.

When her alarm went off at 5 am, Santana was surprised that she had been searching through show choir clips for an hour. Changing into work out gear she put a bag in the car before heading off on her morning run. Not wanting to face Mercedes and Sam, she decided to shower at work, heading there at 6:15 via McDonalds for a drive thru breakfast burger.

* * *

Santana hit a second drive thru three hours later when SR 2 were patrolling their grid. Needing an early morning coffee break, Mike relayed each of their orders to the voice in the metal speaker and drove around to the next window to pay and collect their drinks. Taking her drink, Lauren handed back the tray and Santana offered it to a comatose looking Will before taking her own.

As they roamed the streets Santana removed the lid from her disposable cup and watched the steam billow. She had been doing a lot of thinking lately. Too much. It was out of character for her to allow herself time to think or process anything that wasn't job related, but she found it strangely calming when her thoughts regarded Brittany. Sure their situation was less than ideal, but Santana couldn't recall the last time she'd been this attracted to someone who also made her laugh and made her feel …safe? Was that the word she was after?

Santana only allowed her mind to wander minimally. Thinking about high school had been restricted to her memories of those presently in her life. She was determined not to let her thoughts stray further. Thinking about the past was rarely allowed.

She thought back to her conversation with Brittany the night before and the warm feeling she had experienced when she listed her among the 'show choir' people she'd been involved with. Between that comment and the little fiasco at the cinema, she felt confident that they were one the same page.

* * *

Continuing on their route, Lauren began drumming her fingers on the dashboard, a sure sign that she was feeling just as claustrophobic as Santana in the SRV.

"Alright Loz, let's bust some chops. Mike, see that group of kids on the corner, let Lauren out by the sign then pass them and pull up by the restaurant." Mike looked mildly confused, but nodded his head and Santana caught Lauren's eye in the rear view mirror gave her a wink.

As Lauren approached the group from the left, Santana jumped out of the vehicle and approached them from the right, effectively trapping them.

"Right you lot, the city is having a major crack down on truancy and they've sent us to deal with it. We're going to be taking down names and addresses and personally delivering you back to school or directly into the hands of your parents." Lauren didn't even have to raise her voice to appear threatening. Her soft features became quite menacing when she narrowed her eyebrows and three of the kids backed away.

"Not so fast there." Santana held up a hand to avoid being trodden on by the taller of the group of kids in front of her. "Now this is how it's gonna go down. Senior Constable Zizes right there, well she's having a bad day. I, on the other hand, have a lot to be happy about right now so imma give you one chance. We take down names and you get a warning, but if we see you next Tuesday, your parents can come collect you from the station. Are. We. Clear?"

The group of kids nodded in unison and lined up to give their names to Santana as she flipped open her notepad.

On the way back to the SRV Lauren gave her a high five and both were grateful for the opportunity to stretch their legs.

Less than a half hour later, Holly radioed through to tell them to return to the warehouse immediately. "I've sent some regs to work the grid. I need you all back here now. Quinn and Karofsky have picked us up another leprechaun."

* * *

When they arrived back at the warehouse the whole place was buzzing with trepidation and curiosity. Having held Billie Flanagan until Thursday the week before, and getting absolutely nothing out of him, hopes weren't high with the arrival of Dermot.

Billie's dopey older brother had been picked up when he went home to pay a visit to his girlfriend who proved virtually useless, but was at least easy to keep tabs on, being that she rarely seemed to leave the house. The surveillance equipment, installed by Mike and Lauren, picked up a phone conversation in which Dermot stated the day and time he'd be returning. Holly had sent Quinn and Karofsky to the house and they managed to pick the man up before he'd even had the opportunity to see the girlfriend.

Holly had called the Superintendent in to grill the man with both Quinn and Karofsky present, but everyone knew that when Sue Sylvester asked for 'a moment alone' things were going to get ugly.

* * *

The rest of the SRS worked on their own portions of the case for the majority of the day and Santana, having exhausted her allocated files in Rory Flanagan's email account, spent her time with Artie working up whatever she could put together about Sylvia Henderson and Onyx Security.

Brittany phoned at 1:30 pm to say that the promised information package had been delivered and Sugar scanned the documents and emailed them to the SRS.

Knowing that Sylvia was planning on calling Brittany again the following Monday, they had only a few days to work out whether the company, the people behind it, or the deals they were offering, were legitimate.

Santana made calls to a couple of businesses located near SpinFlex to ask if they would recommend the company and the security measures they provided. Each person she spoke to was very complimentary about Onyx's services and made them sound completely above board. The very fact that Sylvia Henderson appeared not to exist, however, was enough reason for Santana to maintain her suspicions.

* * *

After a very late lunch break, Santana was walking back towards her desk when Lauren informed her that somebody was waiting for her out the front. Heading in the other direction she noticed a young man standing in the foyer.

"Excuse me?" Santana ventured.

"Oh, Santana Senior, I mean Constable San –uh." The man took a deep breath and tried to slow down his rapid speech. "My name is Kurt Hummel and I…"

"You went to school with Brittany." Santana interrupted the man, suddenly recognising him from the You Tube clips she'd watched almost twelve hours before.

"I did. I'm a close friend of hers..."

"Wait, is Britt okay? Why are you here?" There was panic in Santana's voice now and she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was very wrong.

"Britt's fine. She's o-_kay_. I thought she called you to say I'd be coming by... anyway she needed me to give you these." The softly spoken man handed Santana a yellow envelope.

"Mr. Hummel, what is this and why couldn't Brittany bring them here herself?"

"Take a look. I understand this is a potentially sensitive matter for you. Britt asked for my help precisely because she can't come here. Not now."

Santana felt her brow furrow and her mouth run dry. _Not now. What the fuck did that mean?_ Feeling her hands shake, ever so slightly, Santana opened the flap on the back of the envelope and peered in. Inside were six photographs which had been printed on A4 paper, and clipped to them was a printed note.

_STAY AWAY FROM THE COP!_  
_YOU ARE TWO_  
_STRIKES_  
_DOWN_  
_AND A THIRD MEANS_  
_YOU  
ARE  
__OUT__!_

Santana's eyes went wide and, touching the note and paper clip tentatively on one edge, she placed them on the desk to her right. Handling the photographs with similar delicacy, she looked at each one in turn.

The first two were pictures of Santana entering and exiting SpinFlex Dance Studio. The time and date stamps at the bottom indicated that the pictures were taken on different days. The remaining four pictures had been taken outside the After Dark Cinema the night before. Again, each one was stamped with the time and the first two showed both Brittany and Santana entering the cinema a few minutes apart. The final, darker pictures showed both women exiting the cinema, also a few minutes apart.

Santana immediately felt hot in her polyester-blend uniform and looked at Kurt, not knowing what to say. The red that tinged her cheeks was a mixture of embarrassment, anger and fear and she saw some combination of those reflected on the pale man's face.

"Mr Hummel.." Santana barely recognised her own voice.

"Kurt." He assured the woman with a concerned smile and Santana returned this gratefully, taking a deep breath.

"Kurt, I need you to go to her. I need you to stay with her please. Pick her up somewhere obscure, tell her to borrow Sugar's clothes or something. Just get her home and stay with her, please?" Statements and questions combined as Santana pleaded with the man to look after Brittany.

"Of course. Anything. This is all connected isn't it? The phone calls, the studio window, her car. Everything?" Kurt thought aloud, but looking back at Santana his face fell at the alarmed look in her eyes.

"What window Kurt. What car?" Santana threw her hands in the air as she bit out her words to the confused man.

"A few months ago someone threw a rock through the front window of Spin Flex and then about a month after that Britt's car was broken into, out the back of the studio. The phone calls started a few weeks later. I'm sorry. I thought she would have told you all of this. You knew about the calls…" Kurt trailed off.

"I'm sorry, yes. I knew about the calls, but that's all I knew about. Why wouldn't she mention the others?"

"I guess she didn't make any connection until this happened today, I mean, maybe they're not related. Right?" Kurt looked ill, himself, now asking for Santana to alleviate his own concerns.

"Look Kurt, just get her home carefully, take the long way, park at her neighbour's, whatever you need to do. We'll set something up from here immediately and tell her I'll contact her. She can't contact me. Something in that note makes me wonder if my phone has been compromised or something. Look, I don't know, but _I_ will contact _her_ tonight."

Kurt nodded and left through the main doors instantly.

Santana collected the note and pictures from the desk and placed them, gently, face to face, so as not to be noticed by anyone else. Swiping her phone off her desk and ignoring a question from Quinn and a strange look from Lauren, she walked directly to Holly's office without even stopping to knock.

"Holly we've got a situation here. I think I've fucked up."

* * *

Holly looked at Santana's face and then, removing a white cotton glove from her desk drawer, she handled the note and photographs carefully.

"We have _quite_ the situation here S-Lo. I'd say this is a game changer. Let me make some calls." Holly removed the glove and picked up her phone, positioning it between her ear and her shoulder as she opened up her planner and began scanning it for a number.

Santana made to leave the office before Holly clicked her fingers and motioned for her to sit back down. Santana turned her phone over in her hand before remembering that Kurt had said Brittany had called her. Sure enough, she had two missed calls and a text displayed on the screen from 'Ginger': _Tried calling, I think we're in trouble San, someone knew about us last night. My friend Kurt is coming to see you. I'm really worried, please call when you get this_.

"Hey Wheels, get yourself along the corridor ASAP we need to get busy with some details here."

Santana's eyes widened when she realised Holly had called Artie.

"Sweet cheeks, Artie's our man with his eyes on the city. If someone is watching you and your girl, maybe we can get Artie watching them, okay. Besides Forensic Frank, who is 100% my boy and knows I pay up if he shuts up, we're outsourcing this. Nobody else in the crew needs to know. Okay?"

Santana nodded, knowing she should be grateful for such a supportive boss, especially under the circumstances. She watched as Holly punched another, much longer number into her phone and waited for a response.

"Anderson, hey, it's Holly, yeah, me too, I know, we totally need to sort that shit soon, but look, I need you on something. This is full time indefinite. Dunno, could be a week, could be a month, but I can sort you a 24/7 pay packet for a week upfront, off the books. Alright, how soon can you get that tight arse down here? No, he's not here, he worked a late one last night so he took the afternoon. Legend, alright see you in 20 buster."

Santana raised her eyebrows and Holly put down the phone, directing her attention back to Santana as Artie wheeled himself into the room.

"Alright sweet che- Wheels, shut that door would you. Okay now buddy we need to keep this totally on the D-L okay?" Artie nodded and Holly filled him in on the situation, using a little too much detail for Santana's liking, but included the most important aspects as well.

Artie looked from Santana to Holly and back to Santana, and with the tension she was feeling from her conversation with Kurt and her concern over Brittany's wellbeing, she snapped.

"Look Abrams, if you're thinking something, say it okay. I know the situation I've put us all in and it's one I would change if I could. I'm no good at asking for help, but I can't sort this by myself so if you're thinking something, just say it, okay." Santana felt out of breath and, uncharacteristically, she almost felt she would cry if she kept speaking.

"Santana, all I'm thinking is that I really hope this is a prank made to look serious. I don't want you or your gir- your friend to be in any trouble and I'll do whatever I can to help out. As a starting point, can I just say that those first two pictures look like they were taken from the same traffic camera across the street that we use for surveillance on the dance studio. I can't say for sure, but from the angle and the peripheral detail, I'd say whoever took these pictures has access to the same footage we do." Santana noted that, for the first time, the man did not finish by looking smug.

"See, this is why we need him on this S." Holly looked at Santana apologetically and Santana just nodded, first at Holly and then at Artie, following up with a barely audible and bitter tasting _thank you_ to the man.

"Holly, could I suggest we involve another party on this, I was thinking…"

"Anderson?" Holly interrupted

"Yeah."

"On it Wheels, he'll be here in 10."

Santana looked at both her boss and Artie expectantly and Holly must have recognised the look as she then went on to explain who this Anderson character was.

"Karofsky's father, Paul, was the city's longest serving Superintendent and co-founder of the SRS. His number one priority: collapse the drug trade and he was making mean work of bringing them down seven years ago. He intercepted in the early stages of confrontation between Hernandez and the Irish and nearly had something concrete to bring down the Grand Hernand-I. He was following a lead when he was shot dead during a raid which went badly. Sylvester had been his partner in the planning stages – she was Inspector back then. The operation was planned down to the tiniest detail, but somehow, on the night the backup went to a different location and the outcome was horrific. Karofsky Senior and two patrol officers were murdered in cold blood and Sylvester, who had been waiting out the back to ensure no perps escaped, hurried inside only to find the damage had been done. It was messy. Witnesses were mainly drunk and stoned teenagers, many of whom managed to escape before they could be identified or questioned.

David Martinez and two other officers arrived on the scene to find Sylvester trying to resuscitate all three officers.

When Sylvester moved to Superintendent four years later, and I was bumped to Inspector, Karofsky Junior came on board at the same time as Blaine Anderson. Karofsky took an instant dislike to the kid and gave him a hard time for being a _Friend of Dorothy's_." Holly used air quotes and Santana smirked at the expression, despite its implication. "When Anderson eventually lodged an official complaint Sylvester's response was to relieve Anderson of his duties with SRS. He was offered a promotion in another department, but didn't take it on the grounds that he felt it would perpetuate that kind of thing being swept under the rug. Instead he went out on his own and he is now in demand from a variety of department heads who hire him for anything from a private chauffeur to a personal bodyguard.

Anderson's a brilliant officer. He's smart. He follows the rules. He's trustworthy. He'll look after your girl Santana. Now tell me about her living situation, does she live alone?"

Santana's head swam with all that Holly had just delivered, and the connection to Karofsky certainly aroused her interest. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she answered Holly's question.

"Umm…she has two housemates, one of which is the other instructor at SpinFlex and the other is a sp- handicapable woman," she smiled using Brittany's term, "…a friend of theirs who Brittany is both the legal guardian and carer of."

"Okay, so I'm going to suggest that Anderson become a permanent fixture in their lives until we sort this out. His main priority will be Brittany, of course, but the other two women need to feel safe as well. Do you know if they could easily accommodate him in their home?"

"It's a fairly large house, I would say that he would probably be able to take a guest room at least." Santana's churning stomach began to settle slightly at the thought that someone would be there with Brittany at all times.

A knock at the door drew Holly's attention from her pad, where she was frantically scribbling notes. "Come in."

"Holly, Artie, great to see you guys." A man of medium build with dark hair, slicked back _Mad Men_ style, complete with vest and bow tie, entered the room. Reaching over to offer Artie a handshake, the man then turned back to Santana with a genuine, bright smile.

"I don't believe we've met, I'm Blaine Anderson."

"Santana Lopez." She smiled with gratitude, even though the man did not yet know why he had been hired.

* * *

Holly spent a great deal of time filling Blaine in on every aspect of their current case and then brought in the relevant details with respect to Brittany and her involvement with Santana.

Santana felt at ease with the man and this was juxtaposed with the feeling of anxiousness she experienced every time Brittany's name was mentioned. She needed to speak with the girl. She needed to hear her voice and know that, despite everything, she was actually okay.

"Alright Anderson, so are you set to head 'round to the Pierce/Jackson/Motta residence right now?"

"You said to prep for a week, so I have. I've got the cable van, so if Santana and I drive over in that, then perhaps she can drive it back to the lot and you could pick her up from there?" Blaine was directing his words to Holly, but Santana snapped out of her daze at the sound of her name.

"What, me, go to, no, that's not, don't you think I…"

"You need to see your girl sweet cheeks, that's priority number one. The note said stay away from the cop. It said nothing about staying away from the cute cable repair girl. Go now, with Anderson, he'll have an outfit in the van. Stay no longer than you'd see fit to pay a repairman yourself and then drive the van back to Blaine's lot. He'll give you the address. I'll be there to give you a ride back here to your car. Okay."

If Santana thought she was overwhelmed by her boss' attitude before, she was speechless now. Never one for being particularly demonstrative, Santana had to fight the urge to give both Holly and Blaine a hug.

"Thank you Holly. Thank you for… everything." Santana maintained eye contact with the woman, even though she could feel tears stinging the backs of her eyes.

"Life should be simpler than this Santana. None of this is your fault. If anything, you girls tried to do the right thing last night and it backfired on you. Those other pictures were taken when you were on official business, so as far as I'm concerned it's only one strike, not two and…really I'm hoping for your sake that it was less of a strike and more of a score." Holly's eyebrows bobbed up and down and Santana couldn't stop herself from bursting out laughing. Sometimes tension can be relived in obscure ways.

* * *

Santana and Blaine changed in SRS parking garage, putting on white coveralls and navy baseball caps with the fake company logo emblazoned on both.

Blaine's van was decked out with everything necessary to make his cover look legitimate and on their way to Brittany's, Santana found out he owned several other fake company vans which he used to conduct many a covert operation.

Arriving at the, now familiar, house, Santana took a deep breath before exiting the vehicle. Collecting a bag of equipment from the back of the van, she joined Blaine, who was carrying an inconspicuous overnight bag, walking side by side up the front path.

Knocking assertively on the door, Santana stood to the side and waited rather impatiently for the door to be opened. A moment later Kurt swung the door open authoritatively and Santana was forced to hide a small giggle behind her hand. She noticed the rather slight man had his chest puffed out, with a menacing look on his face while wearing Looney Tunes pajamas and with his hair pulled off his face with a matching head band.

"What do you think you're- oh, Santana it's you." Kurt looked both sheepish and relieved at the sight of her and she was about to ask if they could come in when she heard commotion behind him.

"We don't need our cable repaired, it could be a trick Britt, don't…" Becky was interrupted by Kurt shushing her as he moved away from the door revealing a dishevelled looking Brittany.

Santana's heart broke as she could see the dancer's eyes were red and swollen from crying, and her usually perfect posture had slumped significantly.

Looking from Kurt to Blaine and Santana, Brittany's face went from despair to confusion to sheer delight in a matter of seconds and as the two officers walked into the house, Kurt shutting the door behind them, Brittany grabbed Santana and wrapped her arms tightly around her.

"I really needed for that to be you." Brittany whispered across Santana's ear and the officer felt herself relax, finally, and smiled, despite the bruising embrace of the blonde.

* * *

**Let me know what you think :0) **


	15. Chapter 15

**The last chapter had the most reviews I've received for one chapter - thanks everyone. Glad people are enjoying Inertia, as a rough guide this is about the half-way point of the story.**

**Glad people are liking Holly, I love her on the show and she's fun to write. **

* * *

**Chapter 15: History**

Brittany removed the navy cap from Santana's head and watched as the dark locks fell messily around the woman's face. Grabbing the collars of Santana's white coveralls, and tugging slightly, she teased the officer about her attire.

"Nice costume, but I prefer the one you were wearing yesterday." She felt her heart rate pick up as Santana grinned back at her.

"Well I prefer absolutely everything about yesterday to be honest." Santana's smile faltered. "You really had me worried when Kurt showed up Britt, I thought something had happened to you."

Brittany whispered an apology against the woman's lips and pulled her closer again for a deep, almost desperate, kiss.

"Ahem." The man who had arrived with Santana cleared his throat and Brittany smiled shyly at Santana before turning her head towards him.

"I'm sorry. I'm Brittany Pierce, but I guess you probably figured that." She offered her right hand to the man, while she interlaced the fingers of her left with Santana's.

"Blaine Anderson. Pleased to meet you Miss Pierce, it's just a shame it had to be under these circumstances." The three nodded their heads in agreement and Brittany showed Blaine through to the lounge room, all the while maintaining her grip on Santana. As everyone took a seat, she scanned the group and then introduced Blaine to everyone.

"Blaine these are my closest friends, Becky Jackson and Sugar Motta, the three of us live here together, Kurt Hummel, who is staying tonight and this is Puck, Noah Puckerman, he lives next door. Oh and Noah, this is Santana."

"Noah Puckerman, but call me Puck, everybody does." The man shook hands with Blaine and then turned his attention to Santana. "And it's a pleasure to finally meet you Santana, I've heard a lot about you."

Santana shook the Puck's hand, offering a warm smile in return.

As a comfortable silence settled over the room, Sugar offered everyone a drink and, taking orders, headed towards the kitchen.

"So what's with the van and stupid outfits?" Everyone looked at Becky with a different expression of surprise as she spat out her words. Brittany put her free arm around the woman's shoulder and pulled her closer, aware that her best friend's impolite tone actually meant she was feeling anxious.

"It's okay Shorty, Blaine and Santana are here to help us sort this business out. They just want to make sure we're all okay, right?" She turned, appealing to Santana for support.

"That's right. If it's okay with you and Sugar, Becky, my boss and I would like Blaine to stay here with you all until this mess is sorted out."

"You mean like a body guard? Because, don't get me wrong, you're cute, but you're no Kevin Costner." Becky spoke directly to Blaine with a slight smirk on her face.

The smirk indicated Becky was beginning to relax and Brittany sighed with relief. It was one thing to be feeling panicked and stressed out, herself, but it added a whole new dimension of concern when she knew that Becky was internalising everything. It was extremely rare that Becky would share her feelings and for months after her mother's accident, Becky showed her despair by making constant snide remarks and displaying disdain for those around her.

Brittany was the only one Becky didn't try to push away and the dancer felt her heart ache at the thought of what would happen to Becky if anything were to ever happen to her. Sure, she would have Sugar and Puck, but Puck had his own responsibilities and Sugar wasn't the most responsible when left to her own devices. Brittany was pulled out of her fog by Santana unclasping their hands and placing one on top of the blonde's knee, drawing reassuring circles against the fabric of her pyjamas with her thumb.

"Blaine will kind of be like a bodyguard actually, but Britt's no Whitney Houston and we don't believe the threat is anywhere near that severe." Santana's tone was both gentle and reassuring as she spoke to Becky and Brittany felt her heart swell as the officer used Becky's own analogy to try and comfort her.

Santana went on to explain Blaine's background and the nature of his involvement. Brittany felt at ease knowing that someone would be at the house with them, and while she was grateful to both Kurt and Puck for their offers of support, she didn't want any more of her friend's lives to be effected by this.

As Santana finished her explanation, Sugar returned to the lounge room with a tray of drinks. Brittany gave the woman a brief rundown of the situation and explianed how Blaine fit in the picture.

"So Blaine's going to stay in the guest room until all this blows over, okay?"

"Sure, I mean, that's fine, but it'll be pretty cosy in there tonight, Kurt's already set himself up."

Brittany knew Sugar was just stirring the pot, both of them having noticed Kurt leering as Blaine peeled himself out of his coveralls upon their arrival. From the flush in Kurt's pale cheeks, it had done the trick.

"Kurt, why don't you show Blaine to the guest room and he can help you take _your_ things along to _my_ room." _Stir, stir, stir_.

Kurt flushed impossibly more so and as he eased himself out of the arm chair, Brittany noticed him glancing at his pyjamas and cringing. Santana must have noticed too as Brittany heard her scoff to herself.

* * *

After Puck left, Sugar, Becky and Kurt moved to the kitchen to make another drink and the three remained there to give Brittany some time to talk details with Santana and Blaine.

Even though Santana was still sitting next to her on the couch, Brittany became aware of a change in manner as the woman shifted from girlfriend mode, back to cop mode_. Girlfriend?_ Brittany felt warmth creep up her neck and into her cheeks as if the slip had been audible. An expectant small smile played on her lips as she looked at Santana. The officer's face softened momentarily and she frowned, narrowing her eyes playfully back at Brittany as if to ask what her smile had been all about. Brittany mouthed the word _later_ to the officer who took a deep breath as if composing herself and nodded in response.

Shaking her head, she visually switched her work face back on and flipped open a notepad.

"Okay Britt, Kurt mentioned damage done to the front of your studio and your car being broken into. Can you give us some more details on that? Did you report the incidents at the time?" Brittany found herself smirking, despite the serious nature of their conversation, finding cop-Santana seriously hot.

"Umm…yeah, I had to file a police report both times for insurance purposes. The smaller of the studio's front windows was broken by a large rock about two hours after I closed up one night and about a month later I left work and went out the back to my car and I found the driver's window smashed, door ajar, and all my papers and a change of clothes were strewn around. As far as I could tell nothing was taken, I'd had anything of value in my bag which was with me in the studio. The police said that the two events could be related, but that it could just as well have been a coincidence. The dates will all be in my diary."

Santana wrote down most of what Brittany said and waited patiently as Brittany retrieved her diary, from her satchel on the floor, and flipped back through the past couple of months locating the dates of each event.

"Okay, now Britt, this is just me thinking aloud and I have nothing to back this up, but I wonder if this maybe has nothing to do with Martin and Rory and is, instead, all related to Onyx Security. I mean, what better way than to convince a young business owner they need higher security measures than to scare them with a seemingly random series of events?" She shook her head and Brittany watched her sweep her mountain of dark hair to one side as she changed her mind. "No, that doesn't add up. That doesn't explain why they would have followed you to the cinema or have a problem with you seeing me." Santana met Brittany's eyes with that last statement and the two women shared as shy smile. "It also doesn't explain why Rory came to see you the day before he died."

Brittany felt a cold chill run down her spine. Even though she'd had no contact with her father or brothers since she was a baby, and hadn't ever known Rory, she felt sick at the thought that her half-brother had been murdered barely more than twenty four hours after they had met.

"Alright, let's try a completely different angle here. Britt, is there anyone from your past that might be trying to mess with you. Was there anything you were involved in where something went down and someone might be holding a grudge?" Santana looked concerned at this and Brittany decided to make an attempt at lightening the mood.

"A couple of cheerleaders went down on me once, _they_ might hold a grudge because they _both_ got hurt."

At this Blaine choked on his drink, spitting it down the front of himself and leaping from the couch, coughing and pounding his fist against his chest. Santana just sat starring at the blonde wide-eyed as Brittany frowned, going back over what she said.

Her own eyebrows shot up comically as she realised how her words had sounded and she placed a hand over her wide open mouth.

"Blaine, no, San that's not what I, I meant they fell. I was trying to be funny. I got the giggles one day during practice and my whole body shook which made the girls fall down. They FELL down on me. Oh God, I can't believe how that came out." Brittany put both hands to her cheeks in an effort to hide the burning sensation there and this was fuelled even more by both Santana, and a still choking Blaine, laughing hysterically at her.

"Britt, its fine okay. I mean you nearly killed his guy," she gestured to Blaine, who was only just able to compose himself, "…but it's fine, don't worry about it. Were you seriously a cheerleader?"

Brittany felt the colour slowly drain from her cheeks as Santana reached for one of her hands and ran her thumb along the back of it, trying to make her feel better. She nodded at the question and Santana winked at her.

"Guess what? Me too. _Anyway_ getting back to the _original_ question. Have you ever done anything to seriously piss someone off? Have you had to make a decision which has effected someone negatively? Were you ever involved in a situation where someone might hold you responsible for something? Just think back. Five years, ten years even, although that might be getting a bit ridiculous. Anything at all Britt. Even if it seems insignificant to you, it might have been a big issue for someone else. Enough to make them want to mess with you now."

Brittany thought about Santana's words and wracked her brain for any faint memory in which someone could have had something against her.

"Umm…I guess I can think of a couple of minor things, but they're from High School, I mean would people seriously hold a grudge after that long? It's been six years!"

"Seriously Brittany, you have no idea what ridiculous circumstances can lead people into doing the most bizarre things. You don't even want to know, trust me." Blaine looked almost sick at the thought and Brittany shuddered to think what kinds of crimes he and Santana had been forced to deal with their line of work.

"Okay, well in our Senior year of High School, Becky and I were named Co-Captains of the Cheerios, our cheerleading squad, and we both received threatening notes, from a girl named Cheryl DeMart, for weeks. She wanted to kill us, she wanted to kill herself, we didn't deserve it, blah, blah, blah. She made horrible remarks about Becky. It was ridiculous. After she managed to fill both of our lockers with dirt, which we both ended up having a mouthful of when we opened them later, she was suspended for a couple of days. The notes stopped, but she spent the rest of the school year making rude gestures and stuff like that. Is that the sort of thing you mean? It seems so lame to even talk about it. I haven't thought about that in years."

Brittany actually felt a little embarrassed relaying the story as if it had any bearing on her life now.

"As lame as it sounds, that's exactly what we mean. We run the name Cheryl DeMart, it comes up clear, we probably look elsewhere, but if she has a record of some sort, we could _possibly_ pursue it. Anything else like that?"

"I also ran for Senior Class President that year and when I won, I beat Kurt and a jock name Kevin Broadby. He was an asshole. He'd been a prick to me ever since he found out I was into girls and when I incorporated rainbows and a bit of girl-power and diversity talk into my campaign, he lost the plot. He destroyed my posters and made new, fairly graphic ones and distributed them around the school. He said the only thing worse than a faggot winning President, was a 'Queerio' who didn't even know which side of the fence she sat on. Basically he was just pissed that he never got to watch." Brittany smiled, shrugging her shoulders playfully and Santana let out a small laugh in response.

"Okay Britt, well that's a start at least. What about anything earlier on in High School or in the years since? Any jilted ex-lovers who might want to scare you? Any seriously broken hearts?" Santana's eyes sparkled with curiosity and Brittany had the feeling that this question was as interesting to Santana, personally, as it was relevant to the investigation.

"My breakup with Sofia was pretty intense and dramatic." Brittany sighed at the memory.

"Oh hell, not this girl again! What did you do to her? The last thing we need is some maniac out there, who looks a lot like me, committing the very crime I'm trying to solve." Santana's tone was playful and Brittany just wished they could get all the official stuff over and done with so she and Santana could just spend time together.

"Well, I didn't _do_ anything to her, she actually broke up with _me_. This is a long story."

Brittany paused and Santana motioned for her to continue.

"Her family were seriously homophobic and over the, like, I guess, maybe eighteen months we were together, I only ever met one or two of her relatives. Mainly she'd hang out with me at my Aunt's place or we'd just be together anywhere her family wasn't. Her cousin Phil used to have these massive parties every few months. Some High School kids, mostly College kids though, and he was always cool with Sofia taking me. We could be ourselves there and I think she liked that she could flaunt us a little with someone in her family. Anyway we'd been dating about nine or ten months when she broke up with me after one of the parties saying that someone else had found out. Like an uncle or something. He was apparently an asshole to her and she said it was over. Somehow Phil managed to smooth things over and we were back together within a couple of weeks. Then months later, we'd been to heaps of Phil's parties together in between, but months later there was another one and some shit went down, the cops must have been called, there were major dramas, I don't even really remember it to be honest. It was really loud and I was …_pret-ty_ drunk. She and I had spent most of the night…alone," Brittany smirked at the memory, earning a back handed slap from Santana who was still furiously writing down details, "…anyway I remember hearing car tires screeching and lots of banging and then the door to the bedroom we were in burst open and it was the asshole again. He totally caught us in the act and…I-she- Sofia…I've seriously _never_ seen fear like that in someone's eyes. I remember that for sure. He slammed the door so hard the clock fell off the wall and she threw my clothes at me and we dressed in record time. She opened the bedroom door, but some dickhead was running around with a gun so she shut the door, turned the key in the lock and we scrambled out the window as all the cop cars showed up. We ran the entire way to my Aunt's place. It was so far away. Anyway she stayed with me there and the next day, after she left, she called and said what's-his-name had gone into a rage and I don't know if he hurt her, but she sounded so afraid. I wasn't allowed to see her again." Brittany paused, a violent chill running up her spine as she was transported to a moment she had thought of so many times before, but not in such a long time.

"I actually saw her from a distance maybe a year ago, but I didn't approach her. I didn't know what to say. If he hurt her that night, maybe she blames _me_. I don't know." Brittany shook her head. "This is stupid. Take her name off the list, there's no way she'd be capable of anything like this." She waved her hand between Santana's pen and the notepad she was writing on.

"Britt, I know this is hard, and nobody wants to think about people they _thought_ they knew being…different in some way, but we have _no_ leads in this case. _No_ idea who is threatening you." Santana's face was full of concern and Brittany wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss her, but she felt it wouldn't be appropriate in front of Blaine.

"Okay then, well there's another girlfriend you should add to the list too then. This one I _did_ break up with. Alyssa Greenwood. I broke up with her about two years ago and we'd been together for about that long too. She lived here with us for the last six months of our relationship and we had heaps of issues which we clashed over, but the major one was that she wanted to get our own place and I wasn't interested in leaving here yet. I mean, we'd only been living together for a few months, I figured, what's the rush. So she proposed. The full deal, romantic location, down on one knee _and_ expensive ring. I was pretty sure it was just part of the ploy for us to get our own place, so I ended it. Said I wasn't interested in games etcetera, etcetera. Anyway we both wound up going to a friend's wedding, separately, the following month. So I guess being at the same wedding as the person who refused your proposal is tricky, but she _must_ have drunk a hell of a lot because she went _completely_ psycho.

I was dancing, _as_ I do, and dancing with several different people, being that I had shown up alone, and she _actually_ went up to a couple of them and threatened them. She was asked to leave by the Best Man and she disappeared only to show back up about twenty minutes later. I was dancing with one of the groomsmen at this point and she was slurring her words and managed to ask if she could cut in and when I declined and the guy danced me around and away from her she took off her shoe and slammed the heel of it into his face three times."

Both Blaine and Santana flinched.

"I ended up sitting in the emergency room at the hospital with him until four in the morning while the doctors tried to patch up a hole in his lip, a cut over his eyebrow and a huge one in his palm where he'd put it up, defensively, to protect himself. Never saw or heard from her again. Worth putting on the list? I can tell you now, she'd have some kind of record because Charlie pressed charges. Then again, I guess Sofia's got a record too, so…"

Brittany shook her head, emotionally drained from her ridiculous day. "I'll keep thinking about things, but I really can't come up with anything else right now. Maybe if I go through some old diaries or something, it might jog my memory?"

"Honestly Brittany, that's enough for now. From what I understand, Holly still wants us to pursue the connection with the Flanagan's and they're holding one of Martin's sons for questioning. We'll run some names and details from what you've told us, but I agree, they all seem like unlikely options. Nothing like a trip down memory lane though eh?" Blaine joked before standing up and grabbing his notes.

"Look I'll head off to the guest room if that's okay, give the two of you a few minutes alone, but it _is_ getting late Santana – you should probably get the van back soon. Text Holly when you leave here okay? Brittany, I'll see you in the morning. Santana, I'll be in touch. Goodnight ladies."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight"

The two women said in unison. As soon as Blaine had left the room, Brittany threw a leg over Santana's knees, straddling her, and placed both hands to the officer's cheeks, pulling her in for long kiss.

"I know I said it already, but I'm _really_ glad you're here." Brittany put her arms around Santana's neck and fell against the officer, squashing her against the couch.

Santana freed her hands from between them enough to push Brittany away and the blonde felt her heart sink momentarily before she noticed Santana panting for breath. "Couldn't. Breathe. Britt."

Brittany sat back on Santana's knees and crossed her arms, pouting until Santana leant up for a kiss. "I'm glad to finally be here too, I just wish I'd been with you earlier when all this happened. I _hate_ that you had to be so scared and you couldn't ring or come to me because of it."

"Well, you're here now..." Brittany hesitated, taking a deep breath, "…stay with me tonight?"

Santana responded by putting her hands behind Brittany and sliding her closer. She reached up into blonde hair and drew Brittany nearer to her, placing a tender kiss to her lips.

"I need you to know that I would stay if I could."

Brittany noticed a sigh escape the Latina and she played, again with the collars of the white coveralls.

"I'd let you keep this on if you wanted to, I mean, we could _totally_ keep things PG…if that's what you want?" Brittany knew Santana couldn't change her mind, but wanted to have a bit of fun before the officer had to leave. Santana looked at her with faux exasperation etched on her face.

"Trust me, I really _don't_ want to keep this PG and I'm _pret-ty_ sure that if I stayed, you wouldn't stand a _chance_." Santana flirted, looking incredibly self-assured and Brittany mentally kicked herself for starting something, knowing she'd probably be ending the second night in a row with a cold shower instead of her hot cop.

"Is that a challenge Senior Constable?"

"It would be if I was staying." Santana nodded, smirking before light heartedly slapping Brittany's thigh. "Now get off before you render me completely useless like last night. You told me to wait five minutes, I had to wait _ten_ until I could even _stand up_. The pimply faced usher asked me if there was something wrong. I just lied and told him I had cramp."

The two laughed as Brittany rose to her feet, attaching her lips to Santana's and pulling her up also.

"Okay, babe, seriously, I have to go." Santana kissed Brittany again and the blonde felt a warmth spread across her chest upon hearing the officer use the term. Santana collected her bag from the hallway and then reached a hand over to link her pinky finger with Brittany's. The warmth in the dancer's chest spread throughout her body, that small gesture making her feel safer than knowing Blaine was sleeping down the hall from her.

Santana spoke as she swayed their joined fingers backward and forwards slowly.

"I'm going to sort out a new phone in the morning and I'll call you then okay?"

Brittany nodded aware that Santana was possibly being overly cautious, but understanding that it was necessary under the circumstances.

"I don't know if we'll be able to see each other for the next few days, no uniforms can be seen near the studio, but maybe," her eyes sparkled mischievously again, "… if you have an issue with your _cable_ again, I might need to swing by and _tinker_ with it."

Brittany couldn't help letting a surprised giggle escape her at the double entendre, and she covered her mouth before pulling Santana into her and locking their conjoined hand behind the officer's body. "Can we just assume that if I _haven't _seen you by Friday, I will _definitely_ need you to come over and _tinker_ with me?" Santana shook her head and smirked into a heated kiss. Brittany's breath caught in her throat as she felt a surge throughout her entire body, moaning as she felt Santana's tongue grazing her upper lip.

"Okay, you _really_ need to go or we'll owe Blaine for new coveralls. Becky's away all weekend visiting her Grandmother and I can get rid of Sugar if you can arrange something."

"What about Blaine?" Santana seemed genuinely frustrated that there was someone else to consider.

"I don't know, I'll figure something out, just get yourself here, okay?"

"I'll talk to you tomorrow." Santana smiled and then took a deep breath and ran a hand over her face to erase her smirk. "Excuse me ma'am," she gently pushed Brittany away from her, "I came here to do a job, not to be harassed. Next time I'll be sure to send someone else."

"Just make sure they're hot!" Brittany responded and Santana flipped her hair and clicked her tongue in mock aggravation before gathering her long locks up onto the top of her head and replacing the navy blue cap.

"Oh, trust me, they will be!" Reaching for the handle Santana winked before stepping out into the cool night air.

* * *

**:)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks again for your reviews - more for last chapter than any other - loving it!**

**Yes, Brittana is of course endgame here : )**

**A few reviews mentioned concerns about the amount of ex's Brittany has and why she keeps chatting about them with Santana. Canon Brittany had made out with everyone at McKinley and slept with a large portion too, so don't be concerned by her High School antics. **

**As for Sofia and Santana looing alike, keep in mind that canon Brittany has issues when it comes to appearances. She thought Joe was a girl, Unique was Mercedes and she thought Jesse was Will's son…wait and see : )**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Identity**

On Wednesday morning, Santana arrived at work promptly at 6:30 am. Having debriefed with Holly the night before, the Inspector presented Santana with a new phone which she had Artie set up for her. The Intelligence Officer then set up Santana's old phone, scanning it for any signs of interference before concluding that nothing seemed amiss. Being that the new phone was a more recent version Artie suggested Santana keep it, regardless, and transferred over all contacts and settings.

Santana phoned Brittany to check in with her, as promised, at 8:30 am. The dancer seemed relaxed and said she felt comfortable with Blaine, which Santana had expected, but hearing so put her mind at ease. Blaine had escorted Brittany and Sugar to the studio, where he set himself up in a corner of Brittany's office putting together his own security package which would certainly rival anything Onyx claimed to offer.

Santana smiled to herself, only an hour later, at being told she needed to contact the dancer again. Holly's buddy, Forensic Frank, had lifted three sets of finger prints from the note, paperclip and photographs and needed confirmation that, with one belonging to Santana, the other two did in fact belong to Kurt and Brittany.

"Hi San!" Santana could hear a smile playing on the blonde's lips through the phone as she answered the call.

"Hello Miss Peirce, this is Senior Constable Lopez, I'm calling on official police business." Santana tried to sound matter-of-fact, but couldn't remove the smile from her own face as she did so.

"Ah. Why do you have to do that? You know it's impossible to resist you when you're in cop mode!" Brittany's voice was equal parts amusement and frustration.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Hey, do you want the good news or the bad news?" Santana cringed.

"Always start with the bad first I guess, get it out of the way." Santana heard the woman sigh on the other end of the line.

"Well, it's just that the forensics guy only found three sets of finger prints. One is mine and I'm guessing the other two are yours and Kurt's, so no leads I'm afraid."

"Typical I guess. So what's the good news then?" Brittany's voice remained flat.

"Well, maybe we can see each other before Friday after all." Santana grinned into the phone like a mad person.

"What? How? What do you mean?" Santana's grin grew wider at the excitement in Brittany's voice.

"Well don't get too carried away, we just need you and Kurt to come in and have your prints taken. We won't really get to be alone, but I'm just happy I'll get to see you. Perhaps I can briefly steal you away for _questioning_ in a storage cupboard or something?" Brittany chuckled lightly in response.

"Okay, well I'll call Kurt, his lunch breaks are flexible. I guess if Kurt comes here, Blaine can bring us over. I'll just have to be back within the hour. I can't wait to see where you work!" Santana could virtually see the dancer clapping her hands together like a child in a toy store.

"Like I said Britt, don't get too carried away. It's actually pretty dingy. It's designed to be inconspicuous and that seems to be code for grotty, old and totally falling apart." The two shared a laugh before confirming that Brittany would arrive shortly after 12pm.

* * *

With her head down for the rest of the morning, Santana missed the arrival of the dancer and her entourage, and received a call from Holly a little after twelve, informing her that the trio were in her office.

Kurt and Brittany had just had their prints taken when Santana arrived and Brittany was using a cloth to wipe the ink from her fingers. Upon seeing Santana, Brittany beamed and immediately threw her arms around the shorter girl's neck.

"Hi yourself." Santana mumbled quietly, feeling somewhat shy in front of her boss.

"Sorry, I just…missed you a little, I guess." Brittany whispered, pulling back. She subtly reached a hand to Santana's and linked their pinkies as Santana had done the night before.

"Umm…I'm going to delivery these to Frank myself. Anderson, why don't you show Mr Hummel here to the washroom down the hall. We can't have someone dressed like _that_ getting around with filthy hands. _Very_ unbecoming." Holly tilted her head, motioning for the men to follow her out and Santana smirked at the woman, shaking her head, knowing that she had a dual purpose for her suggestion.

As the door closed behind them Brittany wasted no time attacking Santana's lips with her own and the officer, taken by surprise, gasped against the blonde. Brittany pulled back, smirking, and ran her hands down Santana's arms before taking the officer's hands in her own.

"Sugar's going to dinner with her Dad Friday night and will stay at his. Blaine said he is happy to spend the night camped out in the garage, so we have the house to ourselves." Santana's eyes widened at this.

"The garage? Britt, what _exactly_ did you tell him?"

"Trust me, the garage is awesome, it's like a little flat. Aaand," she drew out the word, "…I just explained that I wanted to take you on a romantic date to the dining room and that if dinner went well, maybe you'd be coming back to my…_place_."

Santana felt her eyes close of their own volition as the dancer pressed her body against hers and punctuated that last word with a roll of her hips.

"Imma lose my job if you do that again. Seriously." Santana shook her head and leant in to kiss Brittany again, but was startled by loud voices in the hallway. Santana motioned for Brittany to stand behind the door and felt concern wash over her as she turned the handle and pulled it towards her.

"I _said_, what the fuck are you doing back here?" Karofsky was flushed in the face and angrier than Santana had seen him. The disdain in his voice was something she had thought he reserved only for her and, looking up the corridor, she soon realised the target of the verbal assault.

"Calm down Dave. I'm doing a job for Frank Porter and Mr. Hummel here was in possession of some physical evidence." Santana was impressed by the even tone Blaine managed to use without coming across as condescending.

"I bet he fucking was, I bet he'd just love to leave some of that fucking evidence on your sheets later, you pair of fucking fa…"

"Back down Karofsky." Santana saw Kurt's face flush in horror at Karofsky's words and the larger man snapped his head towards her as she spoke from behind him.

"Oh, that's rich, a defence from the dy…"

"I _said_, back down Karofsky. You really _don't_ want to finish that sentence." Santana was proud of herself for not allowing any emotion to enter her voice and as Karofsky stormed past the men up the hallway they both moved to the side, instinctively.

As he neared the corner, Santana saw the man turn back briefly, his eyes flickering with rage and…something else. The feeling unnerved her and as his eyes met hers, she was sure the previous emotions had been replaced with fear.

Entering Holly's office, Blaine collected his bag and scribbled a note for Holly, leaving it on her desk. "Okay, Santana, I really need to get these two out of here and I want to avoid seeing that…_person_ again."

She nodded and looked over at Brittany whose eyes were filled with a combination of disgust and anxiety. Moving towards the dancer, she offered her hand, squeezing the pale one in hers before leaning over and placing an innocent kiss to her lips.

"I'll talk to you later okay?"

The blonde nodded and mirrored Santana's actions, squeezing her hand and offering up a quick kiss as the three hurried out of the office and towards the elevator.

* * *

For the next two days Santana continued working tirelessly investigating names and backgrounds of anyone and everyone, outside of the Flanagan family, who could be messing with Brittany. Dermot Flanagan, as it turned out, had lived up to his reputation of being incredibly thick and had revealed that his father owned a property in Toledo. When questioned about the names Henderson, Forde and Onyx Security Dermot had apparently looked at Sylvester blankly at the mentioning of the surnames, but showed some recognition at the mentioning of the security company. The imbecile had volunteered the location of his father and step-mother solely on having made the connection that Onyx was the name of a place in Toledo.

While there appeared to be no tangible connection between a confused Dermot and the supposed security company, Sylvester felt that they could keep him for another 24 hours on a technicality.

Santana worked closely with Artie to locate any possible information on Sofia Ramos, Alyssa Greenwood, Cheryl DeMart and Kevin Broadby. They found Broadby to have a twelve month driving suspension after a DUI charge and Alyssa Greenwood had the one assault charge from two years ago. In conversations with Blaine and Holly, none of these names seemed worth pursuing. Cheryl DeMart was off the hook also, but under far more dramatic circumstances. She had been found dead in her apartment eight months prior, hanged, presumed suicide.

Therefore the only name which Santana was struggling with was none other than Sofia Ramos.

Despite having attended Jane Addams after being charged with assault and possession, there was nothing on the police database in her name. Santana literally threw her hands up in the air when Artie suggested she check the sealed records.

"Why the hell didn't I think of that?" It was a rhetorical question, but Santana realised she should have known better than to let it slip in front of the Intelligence Officer.

"Honestly, in my opinion Santana, the lack of practical intel in this case, so far, probably has you subconsciously convinced that you will hit a brick wall at every turn. We know the girl had a record, you don't go to JAA otherwise, if it's not on the database, it must be sealed."

While she appreciated the man's help with this case, which was being worked partially off the books, there was nothing in his personality that Santana felt she could cling to make his manner more tolerable.

"Okay, can you access that from here, or do I need to do some old fashioned leg work on this one?"

"Well, the regs would have to go to the Courthouse, but _I_ can bring up her whole file if you give me a few minutes to perform a search." The man tapped at rapid speed on the keyboard in front of him and a search bar appeared on the screen in front of them, slowly filling blue. "Of course, if the record was actually expunged, there'll be no digital file and we'll need someone from the Courthouse confirm the record of the hearing. We'll be able to find out which Judge signed off on it and exactly when it occurred."

Santana nodded her head, waiting for Artie to finish before speaking again.

"I wonder if there's any point really. There's nothing under her name in the system, so she'd have no further charges. It's not like they'd allow a second lot of charges to be expunged, so maybe we just leave it."

Artie insisted they finish the search and after this returned no rsults, he phoned the Courthouse himself. Santana tapped her foot against the chair leg and flipped through the rest of her notes from talking with Brittany on Tuesday night. Artie put the phone down and turned his chair to face Santana. "Yep, expunged six years ago, must have been shortly after she graduated." He shrugged and turned back to his desk.

"Call up her social security number, actually grab her licence, I want to see what this girl looks like."

"_Santana_." Artie's voice took on a parental –like warning tone which made her feel naturally more insistent.

"Just run the search. We need to know what she looks like in case she's appeared on any of that security footage from the studio." Santana was clutching at straws now.

"Santana, you just told me she was irrelevant to the case. I'll run it, but don't make shit up, okay." Santana's eyes widened at being called out by the scrawny man, but she was satisfied that she had achieved her aim.

* * *

As it turned out, the two spent over an hour running every search possible on the name Sofia Ramos. Just as with the searches on Sylvia Henderson, on Monday, everything on this girl came back blank.

"Well, we know this girl _has_ to exist. Brittany dated her and she was enrolled in school for four years. They've got to have some record of her, a relative's name, an address, something." Santana nodded her head and wandered back to her own desk to call Jane Addams Academy.

She spent a significant amount of time on the phone to the school's Administration Officer, Annie, and came away with little more information. Yes, Sofia had attended the school for four years, she was an A-Grade student, all academic records were available, as was her file which showed little to no involvement in violence or other anti-social activities for the duration. Santana asked to speak with the Principal or one of Sofia's teachers, but the AO explained that the school were on their third Principal since Sofia had attended and their turn-over of teaching staff was even more frequent. Santana was about to give up entirely when she remembered Sofia had been in the school's show choir.

"What about the choir director. Is she still at the school? Hutchinson or something, I think?" Santana pit her lip in anticipation.

"Grace Hitchens? Yes, she's still with us, she is probably the longest serving staff member at the school actually."

"Excellent, well I'd really like to speak with her please." Santana felt relief to finally be on the right track.

"Um, I'm sorry but Grace is on leave for the next two weeks, but I'm sure, under the circumstances, she wouldn't mind if I called and explained the situation to her. Do you have a direct number she could call you back on?"

Santana gave the woman her mobile number and thanked her for her time.

Glancing at her own watch, she realised she only had half an hour until her shift ended and packed up her desk while trying to suppress the nervous excitement at the thought of her evening with Brittany.

* * *

"Isn't this against the rules?" Tina leant against the frame of Santana's bedroom door and watched her friend dressing for her in-house date with Brittany.

Santana turned, hearing the softly spoken words and shrugged at the look of concern on Tina's face.

"It is. In more ways than one. Did Mercedes fill you in on what went on this week?" Santana finished putting the final touches on her makeup and twirled in front of Tina. "Whatd'ya think?"

"Stunning, _as always_. Mercedes told me everything last night. I'm worried about you San, _and_ the dancer. This all just feels really sketchy. I don't want you getting in too deep."

Santana grabbed her oversized handbag from the chair by her mirror and walked out of her room with Tina by her side.

"Honestly, I've been in way too deep from the start. I couldn't have avoided this T. I don't know what it is about this girl, but I haven't felt this way since..." Santana trailed off and Tina nodded in understanding.

"I know. Look, I realize we've hardly seen each other lately, but whenever you've spoken about her, I've seen that look in your eye. Even with everything else that's going on, I can tell she must be really special. I'm glad you've found someone San."

The two shared a brief hug and Santana kissed her friend on the cheek before heading out.

Where her relationship with Mercedes was a mix of tenderness and sarcasm, her relationship with Tina had always been to the point. They were always upfront with each other, to the extent of being rather blunt at times, but the sincerity which came with this was refreshing for Santana. She'd always maintained her guard and, effectively, built a wall between herself and the rest of the world from a very young age. Tina, Mercedes, Simone and, now, Brittany, were really the only people she'd ever let see through her.

Santana felt a lump rise in the back of her throat at the thought of Simone. She hadn't thought of her in so long. Not since the SRS and Brittany...she almost felt guilty about that. Even though she'd been the one to bring her up, she was still unprepared for the effect it had on her. The protectiveness she intuitively felt towards Brittany stirred thoughts of the other women. The warmth Santana felt within her whenever Brittany smiled her way also reminded her of Simone, but that's where the similarities ended. Letting go and forgetting were not the same thing. She could never forget. Closing her eyes, Santana took a deep breath and acknowledged the positive connection she'd made between the two women. She then visualised opening up a box and packing up her thoughts of Simone and, exhaling as she pushed open the door leaving the lobby of her apartment, closed the box, re-placed it in the background of her mind.

* * *

Three cab rides and two dummy locations later, Santana hurried up the stairs to Brittany's front door and knocked. The officer was looking forward to a night free of having to look over her shoulder and she smoothed a hand over the short dress she was wearing as she fidgeted nervously with her hair in anticipation. She hadn't been alone, properly, with Brittany since Tuesday night and their previous two encounters had left her unsatisfied to the point that she had to take matters into her own hands, so to speak, after arriving back home. To say she was looking forward to the after dinner portion of their evening was an understatement.

When the dancer opened the door, Santana couldn't hide the look of disappointment on her face. A dishevelled Brittany was still dressed in sweats from work and had her phone wedged between her ear and her shoulder. In one hand, the dancer was holding a teddy bear and in the other she clasped the small hand of an upset little girl.

Ushering Santana inside with the teddy bear, she mouthed the word _'sorry'_ and closed the front door. Kneeling down beside the little girl she handed her back the teddy while speaking into the phone.

"Yep, okay. No, that's perfect. Thank you so much Sug. Okay, I'll see you soon." Brittany slid her phone into her pocket and offered Santana an exhausted smile before turning back to the little girl.

"Beth, Aunt Sugar is going to come over and take you back home so you can sleep in your own bed tonight, okay? And once you get set up you guys can FaceTime Becky. I text her to let her know what was going on and she said she missed you and would have come back if she had a car. Sweetie, just go into the lounge room and choose a movie from the cabinet. You and Aunt Sugar can watch one of mine tonight, okay?"

The little girl nodded and Brittany stood up, taking a deep breath and turned to Santana. Pulling her into a hug, Santana gently rubbed a hand up and down the dancer's back. "You okay babe? What's going on?"

Sighing again, Brittany kissed Santana before stepping back and peeking into the lounge room. She placed her hands on Santana's waist as she spoke and Santana ran her hands up and down Brittany's bare, goose-pimpled arms.

"Not long after I got home from work, Puck rang in a panic, he'd called the ambulance for his mother. They think she was having a heart attack. I went around and collected Beth, packed her a bag and then came back over here and realised I had no idea what to do. I felt like one of us should be at the hospital with Puck and then I remembered our date," Brittany paused and squeezed Santana lightly, "…not that I ever forgot, but, you know. Anyway, Kurt's gone in to meet Puck, Beth's funny with men she doesn't know and freaked out when Blaine came in to see if we were okay and I've phoned Sugar and she's…well you heard that conversation." Santana ran her hand back up Brittany's arms and felt how tense the dancer's shoulders were under her touch.

"Well after Sugar comes to get Beth, we could get Blaine to take us into the hospital?" Santana offered.

Brittany shook her head. "No way. When I rang Puck he said I wasn't allowed to change my plans. Karen is stable and in the best place she can be. She'll need to rest and I'll go in tomorrow morning to see her."

Santana nodded. "Well while we wait for Sugar, why don't you introduce me to the little one?" Brittany smiled and dragged Santana by the hand into the lounge room.

"Hey Beth, sweetie, this is the Santana that I was telling you about. She gives good hugs if you want one." Santana thought that was pushing it for their first encounter, but the little girl smiled and put her arms out. Santana knelt on the carpet and put her arms around the little girl.

"It's nice to meet you Beth. I met your Daddy the other night actually." Santana sat back on her heals.

"I know, he told me. Brittany's always happy when she talks about you. You're much nicer than Alyssa was, and you're way prettier too. Are you Brittany's new girlfriend?"

Santana raised her eyebrows, but couldn't help the wide grin which spread across her face. Glancing at Brittany she noticed the dancer was biting her lip and had turned a bright shade of pink. Feeling her heart jump into her throat and her stomach somersault, Santana took a chance and maintained eye contact with Brittany as she responded to Beth.

"Well... Brittany makes _me_ really happy too and I think _she's_ really pretty. We haven't really talked about it, but I'd _like_ to be her new girlfriend... if that's what she wants." Santana's voice was uncharacteristically quiet, but she knew Brittany had heard her when the blonde's pale skin flushed again and she gave a tiny nod followed by the most beautiful smile Santana had ever seen.

"Good. That's settled then." She winked at Brittany and stood up, taking Beth's hand and moving around to sit on the couch. The three watched TV together while waiting for Sugar to arrive and Santana reached behind Beth to tuck some blonde hair behind Brittany's ear. Brittany turned at the touch and Santana's thumb brushed against the dancer's cheek before the two leant over Beth and shared a slow, gentle kiss. They were soon pulled from their trance, however, by simultaneous slaps on their thighs from Beth.

"Do you two mind, I'm _trying_ to watch my show here." The kid rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the TV and Santana smiled over at Brittany, rolling her own eyes and shaking her head from side to side.

* * *

Sugar arrived back home twenty minutes later and, despite the situation, was her deliriously happy self. Beth leapt from the couch the moment the woman entered the lounge room and ran to her, jumping up to be brought into a giant hug.

"Thanks sweetie, I really appreciate you coming back." Brittany put an arm around her friend's shoulder and squeezed her.

"Well you know I love dinner with Daddy, but I only made plans with him so I was out of your hair for the night." Sugar smiled at Santana and winked, receiving a backhanded slap from Brittany.

Santana heard her phone beep in her bag and circled the couch to grab it as Brittany and Sugar fussed over Beth, helping her into her coat and collecting her bear and chosen DVD's.

_One missed call and a voicemail_. Santana excused herself and, waving to Beth and blowing the little girl a kiss, wandered over to the window to listen to her message.

"Hello Senior Constable Lopez, Grace Hitchens calling you back. Annie explained that you were having trouble locating Sofia Ramos. She was a beautiful girl, a brilliant student by Jane Addams standards, anyone's standards really and she was, by far, my favourite music student. You'd be having trouble locating information on her because she was forced to enrolled at JAA under another name. Had she enrolled under her real name, she would have been eaten alive. That family were unsuccessful in keeping a low profile back then. To my understanding she had her academic transcript transferred into her birth name after graduation. Any records or information on her from before High School, or in the years since would be under the name Eva Hernandez..."

A cold chill running down her spine, Santana didn't listen to the rest of the woman's message. She pressed _End_ and folded her arms as she looked out Brittany's front window, turning the phone over and over in the palm of her hand, under her arm. This movement was stilled only by warm hands encircling her waist and the feeling of the dancer's lips upon her neck.

"Everything okay beautiful?" She asked quietly.

Santana turned in Brittany's arms and placed a lingering kiss on the blonde's lips before hugging her and whispering "I'm fine babe, everything's fine."

* * *

**Thoughts? : )**

**Dinner and ... dessert next chapter. Stay tuned.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Hunger**

"Did you get some bad news? Your face changed just now." Brittany tapped a finger against Santana's phone still clutched tightly in her hand at her side.

"Not really, it's just work, that's all. I really _don't_ want to think about work tonight." Santana said this aloud and, at the same time, tried to push away all thoughts of the phone call and Eva and the case.

"Okay. Good."

Santana raised an eyebrow, looking at Brittany curiously. "Good?"

"Yeah, well, I-um, I was worried that maybe you felt a little weird about what Beth said before." Brittany dropped her gaze to her hands which were fidgeting between them and Santana tossed her phone on the couch, taking the blonde's hands in her own and squeezing lightly. She thought Brittany looked adorable and the dancer was wearing the same shy look she had when Beth initially mention the '_g_' word.

"What did Beth say?" The officer teased, pushing their conjoined hands against Brittany's stomach. The dancer sighed and pouted, looking up at Santana fleetingly before cast her gaze downward again. "Say it." She prodded the blonde again.

"Did you mean what you said? Is it really what you want?" Brittany looked Santana in the eye, with an almost pained expression on her face, and bit down on her lower lip as though she was afraid of the answer.

"Are you kidding me?" Santana reached a hand to Brittany's chin and ran the pad of her thumb along the dancer's lips, relaxing them. Moving her hand through blonde hair, she pulled the dancer closer to her and kissed her lightly. "You see, I want to be able to do _that _every time I see you. There's a clause in the girlfriend contract stating that I can, and …there's another one that says I can do _this_." Bringing Brittany towards her again she began kissing her slowly, running her hands down the dancer's body and bringing them to rest on the small of her back. Pulling the blonde impossibly closer she deepened their kiss, teasing with her tongue before capturing the dancer's with her lips and sucking hard as she ground her hips against Brittany's sending a jolt of pleasure throughout her own body. Judging by the moan which escaped the blonde, Santana surmised she had felt the same shudder of pleasure and the officer smirked confidently.

"Okay," Brittany took a deep breath, smiling as she let out a small, self-conscious giggle, "…do I need to sign something to make that contract official 'cos you need to be able to do that _all_ the time."

"I'll show you where you can sign later." Santana whispered as her lips tracked softly down Brittany's neck, the dancer sighing and turning her head to give the officer better access. It was Santana's turn to sigh as she inhaled, taking in the incredible scent of coconut and lime which had become familiar to her.

"Britt, seriously, how is it possible that you smell this amazing after being at work, doing what you do like this all day?" Brittany groaned at the loss of contact as Santana pulled back to take in the gorgeous dancer's rather relaxed attire.

"Trust me, it's not. I had time to sort out dinner and to shower before the drama unfolded, but I didn't have time to get dressed after Puck called, so I just threw on fresh sweats. But, speaking of dinner, would you like to come through to the dining room M'lady?" Brittany asked with a flourish, urging Santana towards the adjoining room.

* * *

"Oh my God Britt, this is _amazing_! How did you learn to cook like this?" Santana put a hand to her mouth, covering it, unable to wait until she had finished chewing to rave a about the dish.

"My Aunt Katie pretty much taught me everything. I always found recipes pretty confusing, but my memory is pretty insane so I've just stored everything up here." The blonde tapped the side of her head with her finger before placing more chicken in her mouth.

"Well your Aunt is a brilliant teacher then." Santana smiled at Brittany who was seated to her right, at the head of a large, antique dining table.

"She's the most beautiful person. She really is. She already had two little kids of her own when my mother died, but she didn't even think twice about taking on a twelve year old. She has two more now. Bea and James are almost six."

"Wow. She's brave." Santana smiled. "How old's Beth?"

"She just turned eight, but she's only short so she kind of looks a bit younger."

"Oh. I figured Puck was about our age."

"He is." Brittany smiled at the officer. "Beth was born at the end of our Sophomore year."  
Santana's eyes widened at the news.

"Puck's family had lived next door to Becky since they were in Kindergarten, so the three of us had always hung out and played together on weekends, but Puck went to a different school. He was super smart and was bullied really badly when he started High School so his mother decided to switch him to McKinley at the end of Freshman year. He kind of re-invented himself there. He still did well at school, but he joined the football team and started dating this cheerleader and she fell pregnant pretty much straight away." Brittany paused to take another bite of her food before continuing.

"Anyway she was set to keep the baby until our cheer coach started talking to us about talent scouts and scholarships and just before Beth was born she decided she wanted to give her up. Puck's Dad was an asshole who was never really around and Puck didn't want Beth to grow up thinking that her parents hadn't cared about her so he made the decision to keep her himself. The school allowed him to take some classes part-time for a few months and his mother worked nights so Beth was always looked after. I really don't know how they made it work, but they did and Puck graduated a few months after the rest of us." Brittany looked over at Santana who could see a glimmer of pride in the dancer's eyes as she spoke about her friend.

"That's crazy, for a guy that age to take all that on. But…I guess girls that age do it on their own all the time." Santana shrugged. "So does Beth ever get to see her mother?"

"Not really. She went off to college on a cheerleading scholarship, and I think she now coaches a squad _somewhere_ in the state. She sends cards on Beth's birthday and sometimes has her parents drop off a gift for Christmas, but Beth doesn't know her." Santana noticed Brittany' demeanour change, a far-off look in her eye.

"You okay babe? Are you thinking about Karen?" Santana reached a hand along the table, covering Brittany's as it rested on the table and, in doing so, noticed the dancer fight back a smirk. "What?"

Brittany shrugged, looking up at Santana. "I like it when you call me that." Santana smiled, feeling her skin tingle as Brittany adjusted their hands and traced her thumb over the Latina's knuckles. "Yeah, I was thinking about Karen. She has had to be a mother and grandmother to Beth."

Pale blue eyes flickered from their conjoined hands, back up to meet darkest brown. "I like that you seem to know where my head's at." Brittany moved her hand slowly along Santana's arm and the officer felt herself shudder under the touch. "And… I like that you remember the small details in what I say." Santana let out a shaky breath, as the dancer ran her thumb along the sensitive patch of skin on the inside of her elbow. "I like that you're hear with me Santana." Brittany's slender fingers continued to tickle up Santana's arm and, reaching her shoulder, toyed with the strap of the officer's dress.

"That's a lot of things to like." Santana's voice came out barely above a whisper.

"Well I like you a lot." Brittany smiled shyly, maintaining eye contact with Santana, causing the officer's breath to catch in her throat. The blonde used her left hand to push back on Santana's chair, moving it sideways, the wooden legs scraping along the polished floorboards. With her right hand she removed the napkin the officer had been clutching and placed it on the table.

Straddling Santana, still seated on the ornate dining chair, Brittany brought both hands the officer's face, forcing her to hold her gaze. "I'm glad you're here."

"You said that already." Santana's breath was shallow as she sighed through her words.

"I'm _really_ glad." Brittany dipped her head, capturing the Latina's lips with her own. The sensation of having the dancer's body so close, and having Brittany's warm mouth exploring hers, caused Santana to gasp against the blonde. Brittany took advantage of Santana's parted lips, allowing her tongue to glide delicately into the officer's mouth. At the same time she rolled her hips down against the Latina and Santana was unable to suppress the moan which escaped her. Unable to control herself, Santana mirrored the motion, raising her hips seeking friction against the blonde.

Their kissing became more intense and Santana reached a hand under Brittany's top and allowed her hands to explore the dancer's smooth skin. Running her hands slowly up Brittany's sides, Santana was about to remove the blonde's top when she felt the dancer's hands stop her movements, holding onto her wrists.

"Is that-not, wh…" she began to ask if she had done something wrong when she saw the glimmer of satisfaction in Brittany's eye.

"I almost forgot about dessert."

Santana covered her face with both hands and shook her head at the cunning grin on the dancer's face.

"Britt, you've got to be fucking kidding me. This is, like, the fourth time you've done this to me now!" Santana took a deep breath and rolled her eyes as she allowed a puff of air to cool her forehead, swiping a hand across her face to flick away her black locks, already damp with sweat.

* * *

The two sat on the large couch in the lounge room finishing their dessert, Santana propped up against the armrest with her tanned legs crossed over Brittany's lap. As Brittany took Santana's plate and placed it on the floor by her feet she turned slightly, now facing her and slowly ran her fingers along the officer's perfectly toned legs.

Santana felt the corners of her mouth twitch into an amused smile at the thought of how ridiculously turned on she was at the slightest touch from the blonde. _Even just seeing the look in those eyes…_

"You better be planning to follow through this time." Santana's tone was laced with desire.

"Oh I am, trust me. But there's something else I'd like to do first." Brittany's hand continued upwards, passing Santana's knee and finding her inner thigh.

Santana shook her head slowly from side to side as she looked out from under her long lashes at the dancer. "You're seriously killing me here. I don't need a cup of tea and a biscuit if that's your big idea."

Brittany chuckled lightly. "No, that's not what I had in mind. I think you'll like my idea actually." Brittany's fingers teased at the hem of Santana's dress. "The night we met, I was just starting to have some fun and we were rudely interrupted if you'll recall?" Santana nodded, mentally kicking herself for the hundredth time for getting involved with Alice.

"Well I want to dance with you tonight." Brittany looked up, from watching her fingers graze Santana's thigh, and met the officer's dark eyes. Santana felt a wave of happiness overtake her, a warmth spreading throughout her chest as she grinned at the blonde and nodded in agreement.

"Okay."

"Okay then, well-umm," Brittany appeared nervous all of a sudden, "…I need to change, can you give me, like, five minutes and then…umm, my room," Brittany cleared her throat before continuing, her voice suddenly weak, "…my room is the last one down the hall on the right.

Brittany shifted Santana's legs from their position in her lap and as the two rose from the couch, Santana captured the dancer's lips in an adoring kiss. "I've wanted to dance with you again ever since that night. Make it a quick five minutes." At this Brittany seemed to relax and walked around the couch and briskly out of the room.

As soon as she was out of sight, Santana grabbed for her bag and rummaged around locating her lip gloss. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she smoothed her hands over her dress anxiously and slowly began making her way up to the hall to Brittany's room.

* * *

Hesitating outside Brittany's bedroom door, Santana took a deep breath to calm her nerves and knocked even though the door was ajar.

"Britt? Can I come in now?"

"One minute, sorry," Santana heard the sound of something hitting against a hard object, "aw, fuck!"

"Britt, are you okay in there?" Santana held back the urge to giggle at the mental image of the dancer racing around the room in preparation.

Brittany took a moment to answer and Santana's brow furrowed as she stared at the wooden door. "Britt?" A moment later she smiled as she noticed the lights dim inside the room and she finally received a reply from the blonde.

"Okay, you can come in now."

Santana felt her jaw clench in anticipation and she slowly pushed against the door scanning the room for the dancer. She spotted Brittany in a corner of the room playing with an iPod dock, and raked her eyes over the new outfit the blonde was sporting.

"Wow."

Brittany turned around and Santana bit down on her lower lip, shaking her head. "That's the dress you were wearing that night. You look incredible." Walking further into the room, Brittany met her halfway and outstretched her hands, taking Santana's in hers.

"You like?" Brittany twirled and Santana couldn't help but reach up and let her hand touch the bare flesh of Brittany's back as the low cut halter neck left little to the imagination on the way back around.

"If it's possible, you're even more beautiful than I remember."

Brittany smiled. "Do you remember the song that was playing when we first saw each other?"

Santana nodded, chuckling lightly. "Timbaland and JT, _Carry Out_."

Brittany nodded and sauntered back over to the iPod dock, pressing Play and waited for the track to begin before she strutted her way back to Santana, to the beat of the music. Grabbing the officer by the hips she turned her around and pulled their bodies together, replicating her actions from Heat two weeks before.

_'Baby you lookin fine...'_

Two weeks. Santana wondered how it was possible she was even thinking about the same person after that amount of time, let alone not being able to think of anything else.

As Brittany moved their bodies together to the beat Santana felt her skin tingle at every touch. The dancer's hands began on Santana's hips and made their way down her sides. As Brittany's hands made their way back around to the officer's hips and down the front of her body towards her legs, Santana felt arousal beginning to pool between her thighs.

_'...So pick it up, pick it up, yeah, I like you...'_

With all her senses heightened, Santana felt every touch throughout her entire body and moaned audibly as Brittany's fingers lifted the hem of her dress slightly and teased at the sensitive skin at the top of her thighs. This, combined with Brittany's warm mouth on her neck made the officer weak and she turned in the blonde's arms, putting her own around the dancer's neck to steady herself.

Running her fingers around the material at the back of Brittany's neck she locked eyes with the blonde. "Off." She demanded as she unclipped the strap and the maroon dress slid to the floor. They barely broke apart as Brittany stepped out of the dress, kicking her shoes to the side with it, making her the same height as Santana.

_'...Let me get my ticket, baby, let me get in line...'_

Without a bra on under her maroon dress, Santana couldn't help the devilish smirk which took over her face as she eyed the perfect milky breasts and incredibly toned abs of the dancer. Santana raised both of her hands to Brittany's face and reached back to tangle them in blonde hair as she brought the dancer closer and kissed her passionately.

_'...Hold on, you got yours, let me get mine...'_

Brittany reached up and grasped one of Santana's wrists, dragging it down past her neck, and placed the officer's hand over her left breast. Both women moaned into the kiss as Santana began massaging Brittany's breast, grazing her nipple with the pad of her thumb and smiling in satisfaction at how quickly it hardened under her touch.

The sounds of Brittany's breaths against her ear, as the dancer kissed Santana's neck, sparked another surge of desire straight to the Latina's core. "Fuck Britt, what are you doing to me?" She breathed.

_'...Turn me on, my baby, don't you cut me out...'_

Brittany pulled back momentarily to meet her gaze. "Nothing. Yet." As Santana groaned at the dancer's words, Brittany walked her backward slowly until she felt the backs of her legs against the mattress. With this Brittany dropped to her knees and Santana's eyebrows knitted together, the officer feeling lightheaded at the thought of Brittany's mouth so close to the most sensitive part of her.

Brittany ran her hands around to the backs of Santana's thighs and began leaving delicate kisses from the Latina's knees up to the hem of her dress. As the dancer payed equal attention to both thighs, Santana ran her fingers through blonde hair and was unable to control the sounds of her panting breaths at Brittany's ministrations.

Santana felt Brittany's hands glide higher on her thighs, taking her dress with them and the dancer squeezed lightly as she reached the Latina's toned ass. With Brittany's mouth now hovering directly in front of her, Santana could barely stand, her legs almost shaking in anticipation. Brittany continued pushing Santana's dress higher and, as she placed kisses along the lace edge of the officer's black panties, Santana felt her lower abdomen tightening unbearably.

She couldn't help but exclaim Brittany's name as the dancer brushed the tip of her nose lightly over the thin material covering her mound, the pulsating between her legs intensifying. The blonde continued her kisses up the officer's stomach, running the palms of her hands up the Latina's tanned torso and standing as she finally removed the dress and tossed it aside.

Santana felt herself blush under the dancer's gaze as she appeared to pause, taking in the officer's barely clad body. She quickly stepped out of her shoes before looking back at the blonde who moved forward again and pressed a thigh between Santana's legs. The officer rocked herself against the blonde, desperately needing ease the aching sensation between her thighs. Running pale fingers through dark, silken hair, Brittany lowered them down onto the bed, supporting herself with her other arm.

Santana moved herself back up towards soft pillows and smiled at the dancer's hesitation as she hovered above her briefly before dipping down against the Latina and dragging her body up until she was directly above the officer.

Santana moaned, again, at the feeling of Brittany's erect nipples tracing paths along her burning skin and sighed as she felt Brittany lay on top of her, the dancer's skin as fiery as her own.

As Brittany straddled her hips, Santana allowed the dancer to pull her upwards, lacing one hand around the her back to unhook her black bra. The officer smiled as her girlfriend gasped at the sight of her breasts as she lay back down, and the dancer wasted no time leaning over to capture a nipple between her teeth, circling it with her tongue as she kneaded the other breast eagerly. Santana could feel every cell in her body humming at the contact.

Brittany kissed her way down Santana's tanned skin and the Latina raised her hips slightly as she felt the dancer hook her fingers into the band of her panties. Brittany looked up at her, a cheeky smile forming on her face and Santana pleaded with her to remove them. Doing so, Brittany slid off the bed herself and slowly removed her own, giving Santana a good show as she did.

Santana cursed as the incredible form of Brittany crawled slowly towards her on the bed. As Brittany lowered her body back down onto the officer's, Santana pushed a thigh between the dancer's and rolled them over so that she was now hovering above the blonde.

A satisfied smirk on her face, Santana leant down to capture the blonde's lips with her own and pulled away noticing Brittany was barely able to kiss her, for her own large smirk.

"What?"

"It's about time, that's all, I've been waiting all night for you to try and top me." Brittany chuckled lightly and pulled the Latina down for another deep kiss.

Santana made her way down the dancer's neck, licking and sucking between kisses. She kissed her way down the blonde's chest and sucked hard on a nipple, forcing a whimper from the dancer before flattening out her tongue and soothing the spot. Santana felt Brittany's hand snake down between their bodies and those teasing fingers drew tentative circles on the bone of her hip. Raising her eyebrows at the dancer she challenged her to continue and when Brittany made to move her hand away, Santana grabbed her by the wrist and encouraged the blonde to go further.

Brittany kept teasing with her right hand while her left went to Santana's neck, pulling the Latina into an intense kiss. Santana allowed the dancer's tongue to explore her mouth and she felt her breathing became increasingly shallow as Brittany's hand made its way towards her centre. Santana gasped at the new throbbing sensation caused by the dancer's fingers trailing through her wetness.

"Oh God Britt. Keep going."

Santana felt the blonde rock up into her in instinctively, her own breathing becoming ragged, and the Latina responded by grinding her hips down, moaning as she was rewarded by Brittany slipping two fingers inside of her.

"Oh Fuck Britt."

The two quickly found a rhythm, Brittany using the rocking motion of her hips to thrust herself deep inside Santana. The officer rode Brittany's fingers hard, already feeling herself tightening around them as her clit brushed against the blonde's palm on each downward motion. Moving a leg and placing it between the blonde's, Santana reached a hand down towards Brittany's centre and, needing to feel her, began tracing light, tantalizing circles against the dancer's swollen clit.

Looking into the pale blue eyes below her, Santana felt her stomach somersault as the throbbing intensified. Her eyes fluttered closed involuntarily as she felt Brittany curl her fingers inside of her, but immediately opened them again searching for pale blue as the dancer ran the pad of her thumb over her clit in time with their rhythm. Thrusting in and out of the dancer, Santana smiled feeling resistance and clenching around her own fingers.

Santana could feel herself about to explode as Brittany used her free hand to pull her closer. They kissed with greater intensity than ever before and as Santana flicked her tongue inside Brittany's mouth, the dancer captured it between her lips, sucking hard as she curled her fingers inside Santana repeatedly. The officer pressed her thumb against Brittany's clit as she thrust into the dancer a few more times before feeling her body respond, Brittany writhing beneath her. Gasping Santana's name, the dancer leant up to kiss her between shaky breaths. The Latina felt herself come undone, breaking away from the blonde's kiss to curse loudly as each wave of her own orgasm hit her. Finding Brittany's lips again, she kissed her unhurriedly, the dancer's fingers stilled inside her as she allowed the final aftershocks to send subtle jolts throughout her body.

Removing their fingers slowly, Brittany rolled them over and Santana lay on her back catching her breath as the dancer applied gentle kisses along the Latina's neck and jawline.

"That was incredible." Santana spoke lazily, still coming out of her haze.

"That was hot!" Brittany added, giggling as she buried her head into the pillow beside Santana's neck.

"Incredibly hot." Santana agreed, a satisfied grin upon her face.

* * *

A few hours later Santana was awoken by a warm body shifting behind her. Turning over, she smiled seeing the dancer sprawled across the bed, the sheets only covering her from the waist down. Pulling them up higher over both of them, Santana shifted into Brittany's side and draped an arm across the blonde's torso, resisting the urge to let her fingers wander.

Glancing at the clock she noticed it was still early and closed her eyes, taking in Brittany's scent and tried to fall back to sleep.

When she closed her eyes, however, all Santana could think about was work. Her few hours of bliss with the amazing woman beside her, had distracted her from it all, but now in the silence it all began floating back. The note. The photos. Eva Hernandez.

Santana felt sick to her stomach when she realised she would have to tell Brittany that the 'Sofia Ramos' she had known, no longer existed.

**Let me know what you think : )**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Messenger**

Brittany awoke to the rustling of covers and a fidgeting Santana lying beside her. Unable to remove the smile from her face at the thought of their 'date', she rolled over to look at the gorgeous woman behind her.

Santana was in a fitful sleep, a scowl across her face, and had gathered the bed sheets in her fists, clenching with each furrow of her brow. Brittany ran a calming hand along the officer's arm before propping herself up on her right elbow and using the thumb of her left hand to smooth the creases from the Latina's forehead. As she placed gentle kisses over the spot her thumb was soothing, she noticed Santana's body relax and the officer rolled over onto her stomach and slipped into a serene slumber.

Glancing at the clock, Brittany knew that 7:45 am was way too early to be functioning, especially after the night they'd had, but she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep any longer now she was awake.

Although it was temping to walk her fingertips along the deliciously exposed torso of her girlfriend, she decided not to disturb her, unsure of how long she'd been fussing about restlessly. Hearing her own stomach grumble audibly she clutched it, aiming to muffle the sound, and carefully slid out of the bed.

Not wanting to wake Santana by banging cupboard doors and trying to open her dresser, she wandered naked up the hallway and around into the laundry looking for some fresh clothes. Locating mismatched underwear, striped fluro green and pink knee socks, purple shorts and a yellow V neck t-shirt, she looked down at herself and smiled. _Perfect_.

Wandering into the kitchen, Brittany sighed at the dishes piled in the sink from the night before and went about, as quietly as possible, packing the dishwasher before making breakfast.

Locating pancake mix in the pantry, Brittany grabbed out the frying pan and spray oil before adding water to the powdered mixture. Shaking the bottle she found herself dancing around the kitchen, unable to wipe the goofy grin from her face. Brittany poured herself an apple juice from the fridge and took a large sip before placing it on the counter. Cooking the pancakes, she began to pile them on a plate and had almost finished when an adorable, sleepy Santana scuffed her way into the kitchen wearing the dancer's clothes.

The baggy red sweat pants were way too long and rolled up to her knees, and the white t-shirt hung off her tiny frame.

"Well good morning beautiful. Nice outfit." Brittany turned off the pan and walked over to meet a tired looking Santana who was still rubbing her eyes and yawning.

Santana blinked a couple of times before running her eyes over her girlfriend and smirking. "Yeah, I could say the same to you. I think blue is the only colour you're missing." Santana swiped the glass of juice off the counter and finished it in one gulp. Shaking her head and smacking herself in the face a couple of times, she shook her arms before wrapping them around Brittany's neck.

"Okay, sorry, I'm awake now. You know this is way too early for a Saturday when my Friday only ended about five hours ago." Brittany grinned at the officer, leaning down to place a kiss on those amazing lips.

"Well, it's a good thing I've made you breakfast then." Brittany gestured to the stack of pancakes at the other end of the counter. "But this is it; don't get too excited, it's nothing like the breakfast you prepared for me that morning. I think I outdid myself last night."

"Yeah, I'll say, on at _least_ four occasions." Santana smirked again and wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

Brittany felt herself blush slightly as Santana's innuendo sent a spark of electricity straight to the pit of her stomach. Grabbing the dish cloth from the bench, she wound it up quickly before snapping it across the Latina's backside.

"Aw, that hurt Britt!" Santana exclaimed in surprise and rubbed her palm over the affected area.

Brittany laughed, a self-satisfied grin on her face. "Need me to kiss it better?" Wiggling her own eyebrows now, she grinned at Santana who returned the look and grabbed her by the waist to bring her in for another kiss.

"I had a lot of fun last night."

Brittany smiled at the coy look on Santana's face as she said so. "So, another sleepover date soon then?" She ran her fingers through the Latina's messy bed hair.

"Yes please, _very_ soon."

* * *

After sharing the pancakes, the two curled up on the couch together. Brittany wanted to phone Puck to check on Karen, but didn't want to do so before 9am. She also knew that Becky's bus wouldn't get her back until at least 11am and that if Sugar had her way, she and Beth would still be pyjama clad at 2pm. Blaine set himself up comfortably in the garage the night before and had the _Lord of The Rings_ trilogy to keep him company, so Brittany imagined they'd remain happily uninterrupted for at least a couple of hours.

She sat with her back against the armrest of the couch and Santana was positioned between her legs with her back against Brittany's stomach. The Latina was unusually quiet, and appeared to be mulling something over as she brushed the backs of her knuckles absentmindedly against Brittany's exposed thighs.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Brittany ventured softly, nuzzling gently against Santana's ear.

Santana turned in Brittany's arms and repositioned herself so that she was seated between Brittany's legs, but with her own either side of the dancer's. Brittany's heart thudded in her chest as the officer looked up at her with an unreadable expression and opened her mouth to say something before closing it and looking down at their entwined fingers.

"San, what is it? What's on your mind?" Brittany asked the question, feeling her own body tense up ready to defend herself against an answer she wasn't going to like. She tried hard to disguise the fact that her breathing became more rapid when Santana's head remained bowed, shaking it slightly from side to side, still not making eye contact with Brittany.

"Santana, is this about last night, about…have I misread something here? What is it? You're worrying me?" Brittany spoke quickly, trying to keep all emotion from her voice, but rolled her eyes at herself as she felt it waver through those last three words.

She looked down at her hands, but instantly felt Santana's hand cup her chin and tilt it upward so that they were looking into each other's eyes.

"I'm sorry babe. I didn't mean to ... last night was…" she paused and Brittany felt her heart begin pumping furiously again, "…last night was _perfect_."

Brittany sighed in relief. "Really Santana? Are you sure?" Brittany's voice was quiet as she fought back tears, completely overwhelmed by the range of emotions she had felt over the past 24 hours.

Santana brought both hands to Brittany's cheeks, running fingertips along Brittany's creased brow reassuringly and Brittany smiled, wondering if the officer had noticed her perform the same gesture earlier that morning. "I'm _so_ sure Britt. I want us to be together. It's been a really long time since I've wanted to get to know somebody or let them get to know me. Being near you is just so…_addictive_. I just never feel like it's enough. I want us to be together and last night…well…you were there…it was _amazing_."

The sincerity of the officer's words, conveyed through those incredible dark eyes, was intense and Brittany leant forward, crashing their lips together, and knocking the wind out of Santana who had to pull back to catch her breath.

"Sorry about that, I kind of panicked there for a minute. But something's still up, isn't it?" Santana nodded. "So if it's not us, or…me then what is it San? Your face changed again, just like it did last night. I'm getting to know this face," Brittany lightly ran her fingertips along Santana's jawline, "I find it hard to look away, I notice when it changes. What is it?" Brittany's voice was low and gentle, calm now at knowing she and her new girlfriend were on the same page.

"Alright, well last night when I took that call about work stuff," Santana paused, frowning and tightening her grip on Brittany's hands, "…it had something to do with the people from your past that we've been looking into."

Brittany took a deep breath. "Go on."

"Well, with everything that was going on here last night, Karen, Puck, Beth, Sugar…I didn't think it was a good time to bring it up." Santana shook her head. "Actually, it was also just me being totally selfish. I didn't know the right way to tell you about it so I put it off. I didn't want it to ruin our night."

Santana looked away as if she was ashamed at the admittance and Brittany found herself frowning, jaw clenched, wondering whether or not she should be unhappy about Santana's decision. She wondered whether she would have done the same if their roles had been reversed.

"Well San, we can't change that now, but if this has something to do with the case or the letter, I think I deserve to know."

"You do, you definitely do, but it isn't the easiest thing to explain Britt. It's about Sofia."

* * *

Brittany listened intently to Santana as she explained the difficulty she had in locating information about Sofia Ramos. She also found herself slightly fascinated by the technology which seemed to be at the disposal of the SRS. She nodded in recognition when Santana mentioned Grace Hitchens. She recalled Sofia having a close relationship with the teacher and remembered having felt relief at knowing there was at least one person at the institution who Sofia could trust.

When Santana relayed the phone message from the choir director and she mentioned that 'Sofia' was actually an alias the girl was enrolled under, Brittany felt sick. She felt her shoulder blades contort as a shiver ran down her spine and, yet, she felt nauseatingly warm instead of cold.

"Britt, I'm so sorry." Santana reached over and rubbed her hand up and down Brittany's arm but the dancer flinched, pulling back from the touch.

Brittany usually had full control over her emotions, but finding out that a girl she had been in a relationship with, for almost a year and a half, had lied about who she was, only made her question what else may have been a lie. She ignored the look of hurt on Santana's face as she recoiled. Her skin was on fire and that touch made her feel claustrophobic.

"What's her real name then?" Brittany's voice was flat and somehow void of the gamut of emotions she was dealing with.

"Eva. Eva Hernandez." The name seemed to echo in the air like a siren in the distance. _Eva_. Brittany chuckled darkly at a memory of a carving on a tree trunk in her Aunt's backyard.

"Britt?"

"Hernandez. As in _killed_ Rory Flanagan? As in the reason for all the _shit_ we're being put through? _That_ Hernandez?" Brittany barely recognised the anger in her own voice which had become louder with every word. She swallowed thickly, breathing in through her nose as tears threatened to spill over.

Santana simply nodded solemnly in response. The officer moved a hand towards Brittany but thought better of it, clenching her fist in mid-air and moved it back to rest against her chin before speaking again. Her tone lower than before, Brittany noticed the Latina's hands shake as she dared to bring them back down to meet hers.

"Britt, there's more…there's a couple more thing I need to tell you." Santana winced even before Brittany was able to respond.

"Just tell me," tears began to trail down Brittany's cheeks now, "…she's dead, isn't she Santana?" Brittany brought one hand to her face and stubbornly flicked the tears from each cheek.

"No, no, no babe, it's not like that," Santana brought her hands to Brittany's face, mimicking her actions and wiping away the fresh tears as they overflowed, "… it's just more… obscure pieces to this puzzle, more things that seem to put you in the centre of all these …connected dots." Brittany groaned, shaking her head. "Britt, we have reason to believe she was seeing Rory Flanagan."

Brittany's felt her eyes go wide and she looked away from Santana, trying to process the information before looking back at her in disbelief. "_You're_ telling _me_ that Sofia Eva _'Gold Star'_ Ramos Hernandez, whateverthe_fuck_ her name is, was screwing my, now dead, half-brother? _None_ of this makes any _sense_!"

Biting out the words she began inhaling and exhaling heavily and ran her fingers through her hair before bringing them to rest over her eyes.

"Britt..." Santana tried to move one of the dancer's hands from her face, but Brittany wouldn't budge. She felt so angry and she was _never_ angry.

The blonde untangled herself from Santana's legs and pulled herself over the armrest and off the couch before heading towards the lounge room door which lead out to the hallway.

"Britt, where are you going? Please don't walk away from me." Santana voice was weak. The Latina sounded as dejected as Brittany felt and, seeing the look on the officer's face as she leant over the back of the couch, the dancer felt even worse than before. Giving Santana a tight lipped smile she walked back over and squeezed the hand which was resting on the couch back. "I just need a minute."

* * *

Brittany walked up the hallway to her room and pulled her wooden desk chair over to her cupboard. Climbing onto the chair she reached up to a high shelf towards the back and brought out a small, worn travel case with silver clasps on the front.

Heading back to the lounge room, Brittany found Santana nervously turning her phone over in her hand as she jiggled her leg up and down against the floor.

"Hi."

"Hi." Santana's features softened. "You planning a small trip?" She tried to joke, but Brittany could see the concern in the Latina's dark eyes.

She sat back down next to her and reached for Santana's hand as she looked her in the eye. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise. This isn't your fault. I know that. I'm sorry for being short with you. This is just a lot to take in. I just feel really…stupid Santana." Brittany leant her elbow on the case in her lap and rested her chin against her clenched fist.

"Please don't say that Britt. This is not a reflection on you in _any_ way. It's possibly not even a reflection on _her_. A fifteen year old doesn't make the decision to change their name by themselves. They need approval and a guardian to sign off on that, especially if they have a record. I know it feels like a lie to you, but maybe the girl had no choice." Santana was trying so hard to be sensitive and be the voice of reason and Brittany found her pained expression endearing.

"I _was_ lied to, but that's not even why I feel so ridiculous." Brittany opened the clasps of the case and began rifling around in its contents before pulling out a stack of papers and photographs held together by an elastic band. Brittany pulled the band off and placed it over her wrist while she sorted through the photos and notes. Settling on a piece of scrap paper and two photos she looked over them before handing them to Santana.

She hadn't looked through this box in so long. Filled with photographs from High School, DVD's of New Directions performances, an old year book and letters from friends and girlfriends, her sentimental side wouldn't let her throw them away.

The first of the two photos she handed Santana had been taken by Sofia, _Eva_, and was of elaborate writing on the inside of the girl's forearm. The black marker writing read '_Brittany for Eva'_. The second picture was of the tree from Aunt Katie's backyard in which the same message had been carved, but the word 'for' had been substituted for the numeral. The scrap of paper showed the same message yet again, but it had been hand drawn in old school graffiti lettering on a piece of lined notepaper.

"She wrote this everywhere. I didn't ever question it. I assumed she meant 'forever'. She often used my first name, sometimes my initials, but, thinking back, I don't recall her writing Sofia. Not once." Again Brittany felt the sickening sensation of warmth take over her, despite the shiver which ran down her spine.

Santana looked over each of the three items again silently. Brittany rubbed the heels of her palms against her eyes before running her hands through her hair. "Do you think she was just fucking with me?"

Santana shifted around and brought one leg up underneath her on the couch, allowing her to move closer to the dancer. "I've got no answers for you, honestly. I really don't know what to say. Perhaps she was reaching out, perhaps she wanted you to know but couldn't actually say it. Maybe these were some kind of insurance against the chance that a day like today may eventually come along. I don't know babe." Santana swung her other leg over Brittany's knees, so that her stomach was almost flush with Brittany's side, and placed the three items beside them before encircling her arms around the dancer's middle. "I'm sorry if telling you was the wrong thing to do. If it's just …created more issues for you unnecessarily… but I felt that you deserved to know."

"You said there was one more thing." Brittany was calm, now, as she spoke. She was prepared for one more shock, one more surprise, but she hoped, desperately, that it would be the last.

Santana nodded her head and, once again, used her thumb to smooth the creases in Brittany's brow. Placing a small kiss to her temple, she pulled back and angled the dancer's face towards hers.

"Sofia's cousin Phil…could his name have actually been Felipe?" Santana bit her lip, waiting for Brittany to consider the question.

"Yeah…yes it was, why?"

"Britt, do you remember me telling you that after Rory was killed there was another murder which we believed was a retaliation killing?" Brittany felt Santana's grip on her waist tighten.

"That was Phil?" Brittany's shoulders slumped and even though she had asked the question, she knew what Santana's answer must be.

"Yeah, babe, it was him." The blonde let herself collapse against Santana and, despite her mind flooding with old memories and new information, the soothing circles, the Latina was rubbing against her back, made her feel safe.

Their silence was broken by Brittany's phone vibrating on the coffee table, Puck's name and grinning face displayed on the screen. She glanced at the clock on the wall as she shuffled out of Santana's hold. _9:30am_. She cursed herself for completely forgetting her friend and swiftly picked up the phone.

"Puck! How is she? Okay, well that's a good sign then. No, I reckon they're still in bed, I might call over there soon. Okay. Yep. I'll be there by lunchtime. No, Blaine will drive me in. Okay I will. See you soon."

She placed the phone back down on the table and looked over at Santana. The officer looked amazing despite the morning they'd had, and their lack of sleep.

"Come here." Brittany offered a hand to the Latina and dragged her off the couch before wrapping her arms around the shorter woman and holding her tightly. As she breathed in, she felt a smile creep across her face noticing that she could still faintly smell the officer's perfume, but it was now laced the smell of her own on yesterday's clothes.

"San, I'm sorry that all this is happening to us because of me. I just want to be with you without all of this other stuff going on."

"Hey, I told you that you are not to blame, in any of this. You know what I learnt really early on in this job? It's that when people are playing games, when they're being dishonest, committing crimes and trying to cover up the truth, they always stuff it up eventually. Whether we're dealing with one person or six here, they are going to make a wrong move and we're going to notice Britt. This has gone on long enough. This info about Sofia, it just shows us that the dots are connected even more tightly than we imagined. You need to know that I'm good at my job babe, and I'm about to mess shit up." Brittany laughed, feeling like she could relax for the first time since they had started speaking.

"I really don't want you to leave today, but I have to go over to see Beth and Sugar, then I need to call my Aunt and then I'll get Blaine to take me into the hospital. Do you want to stick around until then and he can drop you home on the way maybe?"

Santana shook her head. "Thanks, but I really need to get into work. I need to tell Holly and Artie about this Sofia/Eva business and," the Latina hesitated briefly, "…I'm going to see if I can get in contact with her Britt. I think she might have answers to at least some of our questions. Do you feel okay about that?"

Brittany smiled at the officer and bent her head to place a kiss to her lips. "San, that's your job, it doesn't need to be okay with me. You need to do what you need to do and, honestly, I'd be interested in a few of her answers."

* * *

The two showered and changed before Santana called a cab to begin making her way through the complex labyrinth which was getting back to her own place without arousing any suspicions.

"Thank you, for everything. I know it's your job to try and make me feel safe and comfortable, despite everything that's going on, but I have a feeling this is a bit different." The women shared a giggle as Brittany leant her forehead against Santana's.

"This," Santana gestured between them, "...would be happening regardless of this case. Trust me. I'd already planned to go back to Heat to find you after that night. I reckon I would have gone as far as designing a website like that guy did to track down the girl her saw on the subway, you know?"

Brittany nodded. "That's some pretty extreme measures there, Lopez."

"Well you had a pretty extreme effect on me, Pierce."

As the cab pulled up outside the house, the two shared a deep kiss before separating reluctantly.

"I'll call you later okay, babe?"

Brittany nodded and blew a kiss at Santana, winking as she walked out the door.

* * *

Calling Sugar's phone, the two chatted briefly as Sugar made breakfast for a, still sleeping, Beth. After checking in with Becky to make sure she was on the correct bus, Brittany sat down on the couch with a cup of tea as she rang Katie.

"Hello?"

"Katie, its Britt, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm good sweetie, I'm good. How are you beautiful? We haven't talked for ages."

"I think the last time was my birthday when you brought the kids over. How are they?"

"Really well B. Everyone's good. What's been going on with you?"

Brittany paused. Where could she possibly begin?

"Actually Katie, there's been a lot going on."

The dancer decided to give her Aunt a summary, avoiding any talk of threats and, without a full understanding of the background, she also avoided discussing Sofia/Eva.

"Did you know Martin had another son my age?"

"Your mother knew. She told me. It was the reason she left him. She'd known about the affair for a little while, but she was pregnant and afraid to be on her own. I tried to get her to leave him before you were born, but, well... you know what she was like."

Brittany nodded, even though her Aunt couldn't see the gesture, and she felt the familiar warmth spread across her chest at the thought of her mother.

"Anyway, when you were about ten months old the woman, Rory's mother, came to the house. She was in a bad way, something had happened and that's when your mother decided that she fitted _way_ better into the Flanagan picture than she ever had. She spent the next two months organising a place to live, a car, everything, so that on the day she said to him that she was leaving, she was sorted. You both were."

The two continued to talk about Susan, reminiscing about everything from her sense of humour to her quirky taste in clothes. It felt good to be able to think about her and share that with someone else who knew her so well. In the years between the death of Susan and the death of Becky's mother, Becky had been great to talk to as Susan had virtually been a second mother to her, also. When Donna died the reminiscing stopped. It was far too painful for Becky to talk about mothers in general and, even now, the woman still often showed signs of shutting down if too much was said.

Brittany looked at her watch and realised Blaine would be in to take her to the hospital shortly.

"Thanks Katie. I miss you, we need to catch up in the next couple of weeks okay?"

"Definitely beautiful, just text me a couple times when you will be free and maybe I can leave the kids with Pete and it can just be the two of us for a change?"

"That sounds really good actua…"

"Oh Britt, sorry to cut you off honey, I just have to go and get something for you, do you have a minute?"

"Sure."

Brittany listened to the muffled sounds of drawers or cupboards opening and closing and Katie rustling papers right next to the phone.

"Okay, here it is. Remember when we came for you birthday and I thought I had that note for you in my purse?"

"Umm…a note?" Brittany thought back. "Oh, do you mean a phone message?"

"Yeah, that's it, well I found it a couple of weeks ago when I was cleaning up the study. The woman that rang said she was from a security company…"

Brittany froze. Her blood ran cold as her hand tensed around the phone pressed to her ear.

"…I can't read my own writing, it looks like, no I can't read that part, but I can read her name. It was a Sylvia Henderson."


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites - love seeing new notifications popping up in my inbox : )  
**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Missing Link**

Santana left Brittany's and journeyed home in a similar fashion to how she had arrived the day before. Three different cab rides to get home, a stop off at Starbucks on the way, and the officer changed clothes before hopping into her own car and driving in to work on her day off.

Knowing Artie wouldn't be in, she hoped that Susie would be able to give her the information she needed without asking too many questions. She had phoned and spoken to Holly while riding in a cab and the Inspector felt it was perfectly reasonable for Santana to pay Eva Hernandez a visit.

Santana knocked on the door to Artie's tech lair which he was forced, reluctantly, to relinquish control over on his days off. "Hi Senior Constable, Inspector Holliday said you'd be in. What do you need?" The other Intelligence Officer pulled her reading glasses down off her nose and allowed them to hang from the chain, attached to the glasses, around her neck.

"Well I need some information on the whereabouts of a member of the Hernandez family. Ernesto's daughter, Eva Hernandez. Contact details, an address, workplace, anything we have on her if possible?"

"Okay, sure," Susie put her glasses back on and turned around to type furiously on the keyboard in front of her, "…right, there is no contact phone number, but we do have a residential address." Susie copied the details down onto a piece of notepaper. "And, apparently, she is a nurse over at St. Teresa's hospital. There's a contact number for her there, do you want me to write that down?"

Santana raised her eyebrows at this information."Please."

When Susie had copied down all the necessary details for Santana, the Latina decided to head to the hospital first. Without having any personal contact details for the woman, Santana felt it was a risk to visit her at her place of residence, out of uniform and without backup. At least by fronting up to the woman's workplace, Santana would be in a safe environment and the woman would need to maintain a certain level of decorum.

* * *

To say she was as intrigued about this woman as she was wary, was an understatement. Santana parked her car underneath the hospital and checked her makeup in the mirror on the back of her sun visor before heading upstairs. Walking into the ground level reception area she adjusted her black sleeveless top and flicked her long black hair which cascaded down her back.

Santana Lopez was not usually one to feel self-conscious about her appearance. In fact, she was extremely confident under normal circumstances. Despite this, the idea of meeting Brittany's ex-girlfriend, who apparently looked very similar to her, was somewhat intimidating. Santana had to remind herself, on more than one occasion, that the two had dated in High School and that the woman was in no way a threat to her. She did, however, make a mental note to ask Brittany how on earth she managed to 'date' anyone who essentially would have spent the majority of their relationship in a minimum security juvenile detention facility.

Santana approached the reception desk and asked a middle-aged man which floor she could find Eva Hernandez on.

"5th Floor, Oncology. Continue up the corridor to the second set of elevators to your left."

The officer thanked the man at the desk and followed his directions to the elevators.

Arriving at the 5th Floor, Santana felt sick as the elevator lurched to a stop and the double doors opened. There was certainly a lot to be said for private hospitals. The décor was impressive and freshly cut flowers adorned almost every surface. The scene before her looked more like a fancy hotel and Santana shuddered at a memory of the last hospital room she had been in three years before. Stark and white and breading as many diseases as it was trying to cure, the two establishments could not have been more different.

Shaking off the unpleasant feeling, which had sent goose pimples to every surface of her exposed skin, she rounded the corner and approached another, smaller, reception area. She introduced herself to a nurse who was shuffling patient files around on the desk and muttering something under her breath.

"Hi, I'm Senior Constable Santana Lopez and I was hoping to be able to speak with one of the nurses, Ms. Eva Hernandez?"

The older, matronly woman had her greying hair pulled back in a tight bun, which seemed to be all that was stopping gravity from taking her forehead and cheeks as far south as her breasts had gone. Santana straightened her posture at the very thought, hoping that she would never see the day when hers would tuck into the waist band of a rather generous skirt.

"Certainly. I'll see if she's available Senior Constable, give me a few moments please." The harsh looking woman, as it turned out, was very softly spoken and Santana thought she could detect the remnants of a, once thick, British accent.

Shuffling back along the corridor, the woman, who Santana suspected to be in her mid-fifties, seemed to be favouring her right leg and was trying to disguise the frown upon her face.

"She's quite busy with a patient dear and I can't say when she'll be available. Perhaps you could leave a contact and she could arrange a better time?"

"Look, I do apologise for arriving unannounced, but it is imperative that I speak with her as soon as possible. Would you be able to explain to her that it's regarding a young girl by the name of…Sofia Ramos."

"Sofia Ramos? Certainly officer, I'll let her know." As the woman shuffled off again down the corridor Santana wondered where to even begin should Eva agree to speak with her.

Santana scanned her surroundings as she waited. To the right of the reception desk a wall was adorned with a large mosaic made up of pictures of, Santana suspected, patients and their families. As she took a few steps back, standing against the wall on the opposite side of the corridor she could see that the colour arrangement of the pictures spelled out the word SMILE. She automatically felt the corners of her mouth curl up and she smiled even more so at the realisation that seeing the word displayed in such a way elicited an instinctive reaction.

Santana was startled as she felt someone tap her on the shoulder and break her out of her contemplation.

"Sorry dear, I didn't mean to scare you. Eva will meet you in the sitting room down the hall to your left. She'll be nearer to her patient that way. And I do hope young Sofia is okay, poor Eva looked ill when I mentioned the reason for your visit." The nurse stood aside and motioned to Santana to head down the hall.

As she neared the sitting room, Santana didn't know whether to feel bad that Eva had reacted that way to hearing her alias, or whether she should feel somewhat satisfied that she had played the right card to convince the woman to speak with her.

Wiping her palms against her jeans as she stood by the doorway, she cursed her trademark nerves and took a breath, flicking out her hair and adjusting the small handbag which was slung over her shoulder.

Walking into the room, a tall, dark haired woman was leaning against the window frame, facing away from her and a patient's chart was in her other hand which hung limply at her side.

"Ms. Hernandez?" Santana cursed her voice for sounding meek when she wanted to present as authoritative and assertive.

The woman turned where she was standing and leant back against the window ledge, clutching the clipboard, defensively, in front of her. Besides sharing a similar skin tone, Santana almost rolled her eyes at how vastly different the woman's appearance was to her own. She would make sure to tease Brittany about that later.

"Ms. Hernandez, I'm Senior Constable Santana Lopez and I work for a special division of the city police department known as the Strategic Resp…"

"I know who you are and you can't be here. I can't be seen speaking with you." Santana was taken aback by the woman's sudden interruption and Eva must have noticed the surprise on Santana's face.

"You would know who my family are. You also know who I am and if you're here throwing around the name Sofia Ramos, you'll also understand that it is part of a past I no longer wish to acknowledge nor be associated with. I'm not like the rest of my family Senior Constable. I never have been, but you being here could get me into a lot of trouble. Speaking with you could get me into a lot of trouble."

Seeing the pained look on Eva's face, Santana almost turned and bolted form the woman so as not to cause her more grief, but she hesitated needing to ask at least one question.

"I'll be quick Ms. Hernandez, but presently my main concern is for the safety of someone you used to know well."

"Brittany Pierce." Eva stated this with absolute certainty and Santana instantly felt uncomfortable with the familiar way the dancer's name seemed to roll off the nurse's tongue.

"What do you know Eva? If you have any informati…"

"All I know is that Brittany is the only person left who I've ever 'known well'. I'm sure you're aware that I've lost two of the people closest to me very recently." The nurse appeared to clutch the clipboard to her chest even tighter with these words.

"Eva, if there's someone threatening you, even if your family is involved somehow, we can offer you protection. Do you know if Brittany is actually in danger?"

The woman glanced nervously around the room, eyes darting in every direction and Santana felt nauseated by the woman's skittish behaviour.

"Yes, I think she is. Does the name Cheryl DeMart mean anything to you?" Eva shuddered obviously as she uttered the name.

"Yes, she went to school with Brittany and a few months ago she took her own…" Santana's words trailed off as Eva shook her head solemnly from side to side.

"I don't think she did. Someone had reason to believe she was Brittany. I think she was murdered. I think someone else may have been too." The strain on the other woman's face was obvious and Santana balked at the insinuation behind Eva's words. "I'm sorry, but you need to go Senior Constable. Please." There was now an insistent pleading in te woman's tone.

"Okay Eva, I'll go, but I just have to ask one more question. Rory," the nurse went instantly pale at the sound of her lover's name, "…was he also killed because of Brittany somehow?"

Eva Hernandez shook her head sombrely. "No. Rory and Feli were killed because of me. People get killed when they know too much."

* * *

Santana left the hospital feeling far more anxious and confused than she had when she first arrived. She had left Eva with her card and asked the woman to contact her immediately if she thought of anything else which could be relevant to the investigation. She also assured the woman that if she asked for protection, the SRS would do everything they could to ensure her safety.

The officer closed the door of her car and clipped in her seat belt. Turning to grab the keys, which she had thrown on the passenger seat as she climbed in, she realised her phone had been in the car the whole time. She had three messages from Brittany all asking for her to call her back, but when she dialled the dancer's number, her phone appeared to be switched off.

Santana phoned Blaine, knowing Brittany would probably be with Karen and Puck at the hospital, needing to explain the latest developments to him.

Blaine was sitting in the waiting room of the public hospital Karen had been taken to when Santana called. He informed Santana of the phone message Brittany's Aunt passed on to her and Santana felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Besides being unable to track down the people in charge, everything else about Onyx Security had, so far, checked out. The fact that Sylvia Henderson would try to contact Brittany through an old residential phone number made little sense. She made a note to have Susie check the business registration details of SpinFlex when she got back to the warehouse.

As Santana had expected, Brittany had already informed Blaine about the Sofia/Eva connection and the man had already begun to make his own enquiries into Eva Hernandez's past. When Santana mentioned that Eva was convinced Cheryl DeMart had been murdered, the man was silent.

"Blaine? Are you there?"

"Yeah, sorry Santana, I was just thinking. What if we've all been looking at this whole thing from the wrong angle."

"I don't follow."

"What if Cheryl DeMart, Rory Flanagan and Felipe Hernandez were all killed by the same person. What if that person is the one who is threatening Brittany?"

Santana felt her heart begin to pound in her chest at the implications of the man's theory. "Do you mean you think Brittany could be next?"

"Well not necessarily, someone is definitely trying to scare her. We know that, but what if this has nothing to do with the Flanagan/Hernandez turf feud and everything to do with Eva Hernandez. Brittany said she was fairly sure Eva wouldn't have been romantically linked to Rory Flanagan. We need to know how they met, why the know each other. Get Susie to pull up everything possible on the both of them and cross check it. Make sure she uses both Eva Hernandez and Sofia Ramos in the checks. Hell, get her to throw in all the names we've been floating and that you've already looked into. We need to find the connections to Eva. I really think she's the missing link. And go back through Rory Flanagan's email account, but don't look for evidence of communication with Eva, you exhausted that. Look for evidence of communication with the name Sofia Ramos."

* * *

Santana went back to the SRS warehouse and worked with Susie until the end of her shift. Every machine in the lair was humming as Susie swivelled from left to right on the black office chair.

Santana operated the digital case map on the larger of the electronic display boards. She pulled up a drivers licence picture of Eva Hernandez and moved it into the centre, tapping it twice and quickly scanning the information on the flip side of the virtual image. As Susie added more details into the computer, the connections began to form in web-like lines, stemming from that centre image.

When one of their many screens displayed an error message which Susie had never encountered, she rang Artie for advice. Explaining why everything was working overtime, the man offered to come in and assist them, saying he was happy to keep working with Santana when Susie left in an hour and a half.

Twenty minutes later the Intelligence Officer wheeled himself into the control room, expertly juggling a tray of coffees on his knees. Unable to bend down to adjust the cabling behind the electronic display board, Artie explained the steps to Santana who changed over some cables and wiring and fixed a small fan which had been bumped from its usual 'automatic' setting, onto 'manual'. After only five minutes the machines were all functioning properly again and the three set to work frantically typing and updating their altered case map.

Shortly before Susie's shift was over, Will zombied into the meeting room adjacent to Artie's lair. The man appeared to have stopped by a fast food restaurant on his way and sat down at the front desk, his back to the glass panel connecting the rooms, and ate his dinner.

"What is he doing here at this hour? He's not meant to be back in until Monday." Santana stared through the glass at the man, scowling as if he had just Bridget Jonesed his way into a formal party dressed as a bunny.

"He often comes in during the evening. Gives the Shift 2 guys the shits. He's been known to sleep here on occasion, Holly lets him use the fold out in her office. The guy just hasn't coped since his wife died, which I get, but he's not doing his job properly. I think he's a liability." Susie cringed at herself, knowing she'd possibly said too much. "Sorry, it's not really my place."

"You're right, you know. This isn't stacking shelves at Wal Mart. We need everyone to be on point at all times. When we're on patrol he's essentially asleep in the back of the SRV. Lauren does the job of two people out there. It puts all of us at risk." Santana didn't think Artie would have any issue with her speaking frankly, and she hoped Susie would appreciate her speaking up in support.

"Apparently he and Holly knew each other before he was married. I think they may have trained together. She knew Emma quite well also." Artie lowered his voice as an expressionless Will stood up from the table and turned to them, raising one hand in an attempted wave and offering a tight lipped smile before heading out of the meeting room and joining them.

"Staying here tonight Schue?" Artie asked.

"Yeah, too tired to drive home." The officer sounded groggy and his eyes were bloodshot. Santana couldn't help but wonder if the man was on something. She noticed his eyes flickering between the three of them and the board behind her before he waved a hand lazily at them again and headed towards Holly's office.

* * *

Shortly after Susie left for the night, Santana excused herself to Artie and went next door to the meeting room to ring Brittany. When the FaceTime call connected, Santana's smile grew seeing a glint in Brittany's eyes as she was met with a huge grin from the blonde.

"Hi babe. How are you? Sorry I didn't call back earlier."

"That's okay, Blaine told me you were heading back into work after you spoke with Eva. Wait, San…are you still there?" Brittany's brow furrowed in disapproval.

"Maybe," Santana answered guiltily, "…but we have heaps of leads to follow up babe. I couldn't wait until Monday."

"You know you're not the only one that works there San." Brittany scolded.

"That's totally true, but I'm the only one with the right motivation to keep up this momentum."

"And what's that?"

"You." Santana smiled, sure she saw Brittany blushing.

"So… Cheryl DeMart…" Brittany left the name hanging in the air, but Santana understood the question which was being asked.

"She looks, looked, a little like you Britt. Tall, long blonde hair…"

"I remember her pretty well Santana." Brittany interrupted flatly.

"Yeah, of course, sorry." Santana cringed slightly.

"No. I'm sorry. It's just a little frightening you know. I just don't understand why anyone would be after me, let alone kill her thinking she was me. She moved away after we graduated…"

"…she moved back about a month before she was killed." Santana added.

"Can we talk about something else please? I miss you tonight."

"I miss you too babe, is Blaine back in the house?"

"Yeees." Brittany sounded slightly irritated now.

"Sorry Britt, I'm allowed to be worried about you though right? I - I care about you. A lot. And if I can't be there I just feel better knowing someone else is nearby." Santana looked away coyly with her admission.

"Aw, look at you, going from hard ass cop to super softy in a matter of seconds."

"Oh well, that's just one of the many affects you have on me, I guess." Brittany smiled and Santana felt herself grinning foolishly back at her. "Oh and your girl Eva. She definitely looks like a Lopez, but I have to say she's more of a J-Lo than an S-Lo babe." She laughed at the playful scowl on Brittany's face.

"Hey San, I'm changing the subject again. Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"What would need to happen for me to be able to take you out on an actual date with all this shit that's going on."

Santana smiled as she watched Brittany bite her lower lip in anticipation.

"Weeell…if you're talking out in public, that's pretty risky Britt. If we are seen together… I don't even want to think about what could happen."

"Well we just need to be more careful. If we can get into a venue, maybe in disguises or something, then we can leave in a similar way." Brittany pouted and Santana felt a warmth in her chest as she looked at the dancer's adorable face.

"Well it would completely depend on where we were going and, to be honest Britt, we'd probably need Blaine to chaperone, I'd probably need to clear it with Holly too."

"Can't we just go through Blaine, Holly's a little weird and I think she's kind of got a thing for you." The blonde pouted again and Santana rolled her eyes.

"I highly doubt that, but where were you thinking of going Britt?" Santana asked in mock frustration.

Brittany bounced excitedly on her bed. "Well…there's a new club opening up this Thursday. It's under the Stories Bookshop in the Wellington Mall. I really want to go out dancing with you. Properly this time."

"What, that dance we did last night wasn't proper enough for you?" Santana teased.

"Well that's probably not the sort of dancing we should be doing in public. Particularly the part involving my tongue," Santana instantly felt a pulsating sensation bewteen her thighs and her eyes fluttered closed momentarily, "...I could, however, be persuaded to perform a different dance later on." Brittany raised her eyebrows and Santana, feeling herself blush this time, looked through the glass partition, relieved to see Artie's face still glued to a computer screen.

"Listen babe, as much as I would like to continue _that_ conversation, I should probably go and help Artie, but I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah okay, and San…thankyou…for everything. Thanks for looking out for me."

"Hey, it's in my best interest to look out for you. I can't wait until all this is over so _I_ can take _you_ out _every_ week. I want to show off my girlfriend."

The two shared a laugh before Brittany blew Santana a kiss through the phone and Santana returned one, shyly, hoping Artie wasn't watching and sent the dancer her signature wink before ending the call.

* * *

Artie and Santana spent another two hours working through masses of data and trying to find any possible links between Brittany, Eva Hernandez or Rory Flanagan.

While Santana was still busy searching Rory Flanagan's email account again, this time for any evidence of communication with Sofia Ramos, Artie stumbled upon a couple of interesting connections.

"Hey, Santana. I've had this one searching every public record for the combined names of Eva Hernandez and Rory Flanagan or Sofia Ramos and Rory Flanagan and we finally have a match." He motioned to the screen at the far left of the huge desk.

"Apparently both Rory and Eva worked at the same Summer Camp for four years running. It was one for kids with special needs, it doesn't really specify ... I could find out what types of kids attended, but I don't think it's relevant. I'm just going to run a secondary search to see if any other names also cropped up in that same block of four years."

"Wow. Well I guess that answers a small part of our question. I always kind of figured they'd met due to the conflict between their parents somehow."

"Well that would be something fairly significant to have in common." Santana could hear the sarcasm in the man's tone and chose to ignore it.

"Now, the other thing. Santana, did Brittany tell you that her birth was registered, originally, under the name Brittany Susan Flanagan?"

Santana shook her head. "No, but to be honest, that isn't a huge revelation, her parents were together until she was about one."

"That's true, but Rory Flanagan's mother didn't marry Martin Flanagan until Rory was five. I guess Brittany would have been five also."

"Yes?" Santana was struggling to see his point.

"Well at birth Rory Maxwell Flanagan was actually Rory Maxwell Henderson. _Henderson_ is Martin's wife, Lou-Ella Flanagan's, maiden name. Coincidence?"

Santana raised an eyebrow. "We definitely need to try talk to Lou-Ella then and I think I should also speak with Eva Hernandez again too." Santana sighed. It was difficult to convince the woman to speak with her the first time, she didn't like her chances for the next.

* * *

After staying at work until almost midnight with Artie, Santana was virtually asleep on her feet by the time she actually arrived home.

She began to giggle uncontrollably when she walked past the kitchen and saw Tina eating a bowl of cereal. Plodding over, she decided to make herself some as well, putting the absurd laughter down to being partially delirious due to lack of food and sleep.

"Are you about to leave for work, or have you just arrived home?" Santana slurred around a mouthful of Cheerio's.

"I start at 4am, but I'm going to the gym first, I've totally neglected that side of my life since these crazy shifts started. What about you? Are you just _now_ arriving home from Friday night's date?" Tina raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"I actually arrived home from Friday's date about 10 this morn-" Santana checked the clock above the refrigerator before correcting herself, "…yesterday morning, but I've basically been at work since."

"Did you swap a shift?"

"No, just had a bunch of leads to follow up and it couldn't wait." Santana shovelled the last of the cereal into her mouth and rounded the counter to place her bowl and spoon in the sink.

"Brittany leads?"

"I'm sorry?" Santana frowned in confusion. She needed full sentences right now, nothing cryptic.

"Were they leads specific to Brittany that you were following up on?" Tina joined her at the sink and folded her arms with a look of frustration on her face.

"What difference does it make T?"

"Sweetie, you need to look after yourself. Not everything can be about this girl. I know you really care about her, but you're not the only cop on this case, there are other people that work there you know." Tina placed a hand on Santana's arm and the officer knew her friend's exasperation was purely out of concern for her.

"Yeah, that's what she said." The two shared a smile.

"Well promise me you won't go in tomorrow. If there are lots of leads, ring in and have someone else follow up and save your energy and brain power for Monday. You won't be helping anyone if you look like this when you're actually on the job." Tina affectionately tapped her palms against the sides of the Latina's face.

"I promise, okay. I just have to make some calls, that's all."

"Well as long as you make them from the couch in your pyjamas, you're not breaking the rules." Tina pulled her friend close and squeezed her in a tight hug. "I've gotta go, but if I find out you've left the apartment tomorrow there'll be hell to pay, understand?"

"Yes boss." Santana saluted her friend and waved to her before heading to her room and collapsing, fully clothed, on her bed.

* * *

When Santana awoke on Sunday morning, she found herself minus her jeans and under the bed covers. She also found that it wasn't morning. Uncomfortable, and a little cold, in her bra and sleeveless top, she changed into a t-shirt and hoody. Rubbing her eyes, she wandered to the bathroom to wash her face before heading to the kitchen.

Sitting at the counter, she found Sam and Mercedes eating salad wraps and talking in hushed tones.

"Alright, which one of you undressed me last night?" Santana wiggled an accusing finger between the two.

Mercedes raised her eyebrows at Santana before admitting that it was her, naturally. "Girl, you gotta start taking better care of yourself. You need to eat right and sleep right and only work when they pay you!" Mercedes slapped her palm against the bench for added effect.

"So T called you then?"

"Of course she did. She's worried about you. We both are. This girl has got you acting a little crazy San."

"I'm just trying to do my job." Santana sounded defeated and scraped the remaining chopped salad items into a bowl and grabbed a fork before heading to the couch. She knew her friends were only bugging her because they cared, but she couldn't deal with another lecture so soon after waking up.

Grabbing her phone out of the pocket of the pyjama pants she had pulled on, she noticed she had a missed call from an unknown number and ignored it, dialling the number of St. Teresa's hospital and asked to be put through to the 5th floor.

When she requested to speak with Eva, the man on the other end of the line went silent.

"Umm…hello?"

"Sorry, sorry Officer. Look can I just take a message please. Eva isn't in today."

Santana frowned into the phone before giving the man a message. "Just have her call Santana Lopez. She has my number. Tell her it's regarding a woman by the name of Sylvia Henderson."

"Syl-vi-a Hen-der-son, okay got it. Now, look. I don't know when she'll get the message exactly," the man hesitated and Santana rolled her eyes and motioned with her hand for him to continue, even though he, clearly, couldn't see her, "…she was meant to turn up for her shift three hours ago and she hasn't shown. We're all a bit worried actually. She's never even missed a day before."

Without even saying goodbye to the man, Santana pressed END and went into her recent call list. Selecting the unfamilar number in red at the top of her list she held the phone to her ear and waited.

After hearing the dial tone about six times the call went to message bank.

"Hi, you've reached Eva, I can't take your call right now but..." Santana dropped the phone into her lap and flinched at the chill which ran down her spine.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Old Wounds**

Santana placed her phone and the untouched bowl of salad on the coffee table and stood up slowly, feeling dizzy. Clutching her head she started walking toward the hallway and despite forcing them back with all the willpower she could muster, the tears which stung her eyes began to overflow. She continued walking deliberately towards her room using careful steps, ensuring she wouldn't trip; her vision blurred.

When Santana Lopez was nine she was rollerblading in her cul-de-sac with some of the kids from her neighbourhood. She had great balance and could skate backwards even though many of the other children could not. She was so cocky that she watched the other kids' faces intently. She adored their approving grins and enjoyed being looked up to. She was so cocky that she didn't see a small pile of gravel outside Mrs Flack's driveway on this particular day. The fall seemed to occur in slow motion. Santana watched the faces of the other kids drop. She hit the ground hard. The gravel scraped at her knees and her palms, which she had reached out to break her fall. She wanted to jump up and laugh it off, but she was in more pain, in that moment, than she had ever remembered being in before. She wanted to cry out for her mother. She needed her mother to wrap her arms around her and say it would be okay.

Santana Lopez needed her mother now. She hadn't felt this helpless since Simone…she couldn't let her mind go there. She reached her bedroom door and aggressively swiped at the tears running down her face. At the same time Mercedes barged out of the bathroom, opposite, and the two almost collided. Santana saw the alarmed look in Mercedes eyes and fresh tears spilt down her burning cheeks.

"San," Mercedes' voice was thick with concern, "…baby girl, what is it? What's happened." As her friend brought her arms up to envelope Santana, the Latina put her arms up defensively.

"Don't." Storming into her bedroom she frantically opened dresser drawers and threw a change of clothes on the bed while Mercedes' stood at the doorway with a look on her face which best resembled fear.

"San?" Mercedes whispered.

"I think I've killed someone. I think I've killed Brittany's ex-girlfriend." Santana muttered the words, partly to Mercedes and partly to herself.

"San don't be crazy. You haven't killed anyone. Girl you're not okay, you need to lie down." Mercedes closed the gap between them and brought a hand to Santana's shoulder. The officer swiped her own hand at her friend and watched Mercedes shrink back in shock.

All of the fear and concern and rage Santana had been holding in, over the case, suddenly exploded. "I know I didn't _fucking_ kill anyone, but a girl is probably _dead_ because of me!" She yelled the words, oblivious to that fact that Sam was still in the kitchen and could have easily heard her.

Santana was panting heavily and her arms began to flail as she went into another panic, running her hands down through her hair and frantically trying to catch her breath. Mercedes wrapped her arms tightly around her friend, pinning Santana's arms by her side and, this time, did not ease up when the Latina put up a fight.

"You're okay, I've got you, I've got you, I've got you…" Mercedes voice was low and rhythmic and Santana felt herself go limp in her friend's arms as her body finally gave in to her emotions.

Mercedes slowly moved Santana towards the bed and sat her down, releasing her hold gradually. Santana could taste blood from where she had been biting down on her cheek in an effort to distract herself from everything she was feeling. Swallowing thickly, she lifted the edge of her navy hooded top to her face, wiping away the tears which had stained her cheeks.

Santana took five controlled deep breaths before turning towards Mercedes and speaking in low measured tones. "I need to pull it together and I need to do something. I went to see this woman yesterday and she _told_ me she was in danger, she _warned_ me and _begged_ me to leave her alone. She called me _while I was sleeping this morning_ and now she might be _dead_." Santana pressed her lips together and tried to control the way her chin began to wobble as she spoke. Her nostrils flared and her jaw clenched as she tried to fight another onslaught of tears.

"Okay. You're really worried about this girl and on top of that you're now really worried about Brittany again too, right?" Mercedes ran a soothing hand up and down Santana's arm and all the Latina could do in response was nod, afraid to speak for fear of crying.

"Okay. You need to give me your phone and tell me who to call," Santana opened her mouth to protest Mercedes' instructions, but the woman put her finger to the officers lips and shook her head gently. Lowering her voice, Mercedes continued, "…give me the name of your boss and anyone else that needs to know right now. You are going to take a shower and get your game face on and Sam and I will drive you into work. If you need me to, I can go cheek on your girl while you're sorting shit out."

Santana threw her arms around Mercedes' neck and held onto her friend, biting down on the inside of her cheek again in an effort to stay in control. "Thank you." Her whisper brought tears to Mercedes' eyes.

"Always San." Mercedes held Santana's gaze for a long moment before the officer hurried over to her desk and grabbed a pen and paper.

"First person to call is Holly. She needs to know that Eva Hernandez tried to call me this morning, I missed the call and girl hasn't shown up for work today. Her phone goes straight to message bank. Could you also please call Blaine Anderson and tell him the same, but tell him I'll speak to Brittany myself."

Mercedes' nodded, taking Santana's phone and the note with her as the Latina grabbed the change of clothes and raced to the bathroom.

* * *

_**Sunday 13:15**_

Santana was in the back of Sam's car as he and Mercedes drove her into work. She could have driven herself, but she appreciated the gesture and knew that after her outburst, only an hour before, Mercedes wanted to keep an eye on her as much as possible. It was certainly not the first time she had broken down like that in front of her friend and, truth be told, there was a period of time when it was a daily occurrence. Santana took comfort in the knowledge that neither Mercedes nor Tina would allow her to travel that road again.

After phoning Brittany to reassure herself that her girlfriend was fine, she phoned Holly to confirm their meeting arrangements.

"I'm here already sweet cheeks. Lauren and Will are probably at Jackson/Pierce/Motta now and Blaine will pass the baton and meet us here." Holly's usual jovial tones were lined with a concern Santana had yet to notice in the few weeks she'd been on the SRS. This alone was unsettling for the officer as she questioned her boss about why Will, of all people, had been tasked with taking over from Blaine for a couple of hours.

"Trust me, he's just an extra pair of hands. He was here to meet with Lauren and I about …a matter when your friend called me. You know she's in capable hands with Lauren though, right?"

"Yeah, I trust _her_, I do. Thank you. I'll see you in a few Holly." Santana ended to call and rested her head against the seat back, closing her eyes and trying to recall the bliss of two nights before. She needed something, anything, to distract her from everything which was resurfacing in the back of her mind.

* * *

_**Sunday 14:30**_

After meeting with Blaine and Holly, to discuss the extent of her conversation with Eva from the previous day, the three began to formulate a plan to bring the rest of the SRS on board without giving away anything about Brittany and Santana's relationship.

Santana had phoned the hospital to see if they had heard from Eva or had any further information. The nurse she spoke to informed her that another colleague had gone around to Eva's place of residence to check up her, but that the woman was not home.

Holly immediately tasked Karofsky and Quinn with making an official visit to Eva's house and taking statements from some of the woman's colleagues at the hospital. She had Susie tap into all security cameras at St. Teresa's in the hopes that they would be able to see if the meeting between Eva and Santana, the day before, had been recorded.

They knew that in any case of a missing person, the first 24 hours were crucial. If somebody had tracked her down with the intention of harming her, it was likely that this would occur within 48 hours. Even criminals had lives away from their crimes, often a family and even a job. Those people could never afford to take too much time out of their normal routine as it would arouse suspicion.

Susie had one of the computers programmed to call Eva's phone every half hour in the hopes that someone may pick up. The Intelligence Officer was also tapping into all traffic cameras within a generous radius from Eva Hernandez's house and, using their facial recognition software, could determine if Eva had been in a vehicle in the area at any time in the past twelve hours.

* * *

_**Sunday 18:00**_

Blaine had left to relieve Lauren and Will a little over half an hour ago and both officers were instructed by Holly to go home and rest before their regular shifts began the next morning.

Mercedes had come back down to the warehouse, in her own car, and had brought dinner for herself and Santana. Even though her friend was not permitted in the control room, Susie switched the glass partition to black and the two were able to eat, in peace, in the adjoining briefing room.

"Have you had another chance to speak with Brittany?" Mercedes asked between bites of her burger.

"Not since lunch time."

Mercedes put her dinner down on the paper take out bags and placed a hand over Santana's as it rested on the desk at the front of the room.

"She's okay you know. I understand that you're worried about her, I do. You have every reason to be. You just need to remind yourself that _right now_ she's safe. People are looking after her and she's safe _because_ of you Santana, _because_ of who you are and where you work. Tina and I, well…you're _our_ priority and we need to know that you're safe too."

Santana looked up to meet her friend's concerned gaze. The panic behind Mercedes' eyes had barely faded since the fiasco earlier in the day and Santana felt guilty for alarming her.

"I'm sorry I scared you this morning. I know where your mind would have gone to and it's…it's not like that. I'm okay, honestly. I'm just feeling overwhelmed with everything right now. If any one of the circumstances around this whole thing had been different then today wouldn't have happened, I wouldn't have needed you to bring me back down."

Mercedes pushed her chair away from the desk and grabbed at the hand she was still covering, pulling Santana up towards her. "You and Tina are the biggest and best parts of my life, girl. Bigger than the Beans, and you know how tight I am with those three. Bigger than Sam and I totally think I could marry that boy someday." Santana's eyes widened and she felt her chest swell with emotion as she looked into the eyes of her best friend. "When I saw that look in your eyes this morning and … when you pushed me away, I – I could just feel you slipping again San, and I'm never going to let that happen again. _You_ can never let that happen again, okay?"

Mercedes pulled her into a hug and the two girls let their tears fall silently. The pleading in Mercedes' voice had stirred up memories that the officer had neatly packed away in the far reaches of her mind and she knew then, that to keep them from resurfacing, she needed to get a hold of herself and the way she was letting the case affect her.

"I'm stronger now. I promise. I'm going to need both you and T right now, but I'm going to handle this right, okay." Mercedes nodded as she wiped her tears away with the backs of her hands and took a deep breath. Santana sat back down to finish eating her rapidly cooling dinner and closed her eyes, a rush of warmth engulfing her, as Mercedes bent down a placed a kiss on the top of her head before whispering, "_Always_".

* * *

_**Sunday 20:45**_

Mercedes had driven Santana home after prying her away from Susie's control desk, only when the young Intelligence Officer had promised to put in two hours of overtime.

Santana felt guilty about this, too, but everyone with any idea about the direction the case had taken, was doing more than their fair share at the moment. Holly had even tasked three units of regs to patrol Eva and Brittany's neighbourhoods overnight as well as allocating two regs to the main entrances of St. Teresa's hospital.

Santana stretched out on the floor of her bedroom before pulling on pyjamas and hopping into bed. She'd done no proper exercise in the past couple of days and being hunched over keyboards staring at computer monitors had caused her back and shoulders to stiffen.

Propping herself up on the pillows on her bed, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand and FaceTimed Brittany.

"Hi gorgeous." Santana smiled at the beaming face of the blonde on the screen.

"Hi. Oh San, you look _so_ tired. We should just talk tomorrow. You really need some rest." Brittany's brow had furrowed in concern.

"I really need some Brittany, that's what I need."

Brittany raised her eye brows questioningly and Santana backpedalled, embarrassed by how that had sounded. "Well, yes, of course that, but that not what, I didn't mean, ugh. I just meant I need you here. I just wish you were here with me right now."

She rubbed a hand over her face and knew that Brittany was probably seeing the worst version of her right now. "I must look like _shit_."

"You look exhausted honey, but you still somehow manage to look amazingly beautiful. In fact," Brittany paused and looked suddenly bashful, "…my favourite look on you was the messy haired sleepy Santana who wandered into _my_ kitchen wearing _my_ clothes yesterday." Brittany rolled her eyes. "God, that feels like ages ago San. Is there _any_ way we can see each other tomorrow?"

Santana couldn't prevent the pained expression which crossed her face. "There's always a way Britt, but I'm just _so_ scared that being near you is going to put you in more danger. I care about you Britt, I-you, you're so important to me and I don't think I'd _ever_ forgive myself if something happened to you because of me." Santana sighed, shaking her head slowly from side to side as she sucked her lower lip into her mouth, biting down to stop herself getting emotional. _Far too many tears for one day._

"Honey, this is _not_ your fault. _None_ of it. It's so much bigger than you and by the sounds of it, with the names coming up, it could have been going on since High School. With Cheryl and Rory dead, _I _feel like _I'm _somehow responsible for that, especially Cheryl, but I also know I haven't done _anything_ to _anyone_ Santana. If I'm part of the reason for all of this then someone is _seriously_ fucked up or confused because I don't understand _any_ of it. So I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I'm worried about Sof-Eva," she corrected herself, rolling her eyes once again, "…but I'm not going to stop living my life because some crazy is out to scare me. And you're part of my life now San, I want you in it and actually _you_. As much as I love seeing your face on this thing I need to be able to touch you and hold you."

Santana couldn't stop the smiled which had formed on her face at the blonde's words.

"As much as the other night was…amazing, for par-tic-u-lar reasons, I also just really liked sleeping next to you and waking up with you right beside me."

Brittany smiled shyly and nodded, sighing, "Me too."

The two stared at each other through the phone for a long moment and Santana felt an aching in her chest at how desperately she wanted to be right next to the woman at that very moment.

"Hey San?"

"Yeah babe?"

Brittany smiled, "Lie down with me?"

Santana let out a small puff of a laugh and shuffled around on her pillows until she was laying down with her phone stretched out in front of her, looking at Brittany and trying to imagine her really being here. "We each need to get an iPad babe, you're way too small on this screen for my liking."

They smiled, both with their heads on the pillows, and Santana wished the other side of the bed wasn't so cold when she stretched out her feet.

"If you leave you phone on the other pillow I'll call you in the morning before you go into work and it'll be kind of like we're waking up together. You get up at 5 right?"

Santana smiled at the dancer and shook her head once again. "Babe there is _no_ _way_ I'm letting you phone me at 5am when I know you wouldn't normally be getting up for another couple of hours."

"So I'll roll over and go back to sleep when you go for your run," she shrugged her shoulders, "…it'll be just like you're really here, or, I'm really there, or whatever." Santana noticed the blonde's blinking was becoming slowly heavier and sighed, wishing again that the woman was beside her instead of the phone.

"Okay, if you wake up in time to call me that's okay, but if you sleep past 5am, just imagine I gave you a kiss before I went out the door, okay?"

"Okay. Goodnight San." Brittany blew her a kiss.

" 'night babe. I'll talk to you tomorrow." They shared a final smile before Santana ended to call.

Placing the phone on the other pillow, Santana couldn't bring herself to let go of it and fell asleep still gripping the device.

* * *

_**Monday 7:00**_

Brittany had called Santana at exactly 5am and Santana was sure that she could get used to the blonde's husky morning voice, instead of her usual alarm, as a wakeup call.

Santana was waiting for the rest of the SR crew to arrive as Holly had asked her if she could run through a breakdown of the weekend's events and bring everyone up to speed. She found herself curling her fingers around the top of the wooden desk and digging short fingernails into the underside of it to distract from her nerves.

After she explained the details of her conversation with Eva and the events of Sunday, Holly added in detail of each of the initial measures they had taken.

"The key factor we need to remember here is that we have a man on the inside. If the family are also being threatened, or if Martinez gets wind of anything which indicates the family are involved, we _will_ find out about it. The fact that he didn't contact me this morning, frankly makes me a little disappointed…but, it also tells us that he doesn't know anything yet. If the woman really is missing, perhaps her family don't even know at this stage. So in the mean time we do what we can, but I would expect to hear from him by tomorrow or Wednesday at the absolute latest. I know that is stretching the friendship on the timeframe, but, as you know, there is no safe way for _me_ to contact _him_."

Holly also made the crew aware of Blaine's involvement in the case, as an investigator and essentially a minder for Brittany and Santana couldn't help but glance in Karofsky's direction as the man's name was uttered. The look on his face resembled the look she had last seen in the corridor almost one week prior. There was definitely fear in that look. Santana watched as he crossed his legs, placing an ankle on his other knee, and stretched his arm across the back of the vacant seat to his left, effectively doubling his personal space. Yet Santana couldn't help but feel that the thick-set man suddenly looked a lot smaller than usual. The man who appeared to take pride in bullying people actually looked vulnerable.

* * *

_**Monday 10:00**_

As an aside to their current issue, Holly had tasked Shannon and Hudson with driving to Toledo to bring in Martin and Lou-Ella Flanagan. They had embarked on the hour and a half drive after briefing and were now journeying back with the Irish kingpin and his second wife.

It had been one week since Brittany first received the call from the mysterious Sylvia Henderson and she was expected to receive another today. Santana hoped desperately that the Flanagan wife would have some connection to Onyx Security or be able to shed some light on the subject. That was if she talked at all.

Martin Flanagan was a known criminal, but he was also very smart. Sure he'd been caught on small charges in the past, but nothing the authorities did could make the bigger charges stick. Sylvester had insisted that she and Holly question the man themselves and, in the process, do some digging about the deaths of Rory and of Felipe Hernandez. Sylvester was even prepared to raise the topic of Rory's possible relationship with Eva in the hopes of an outburst of some sort from the man.

* * *

_**Monday 13:30**_

Sylvester and Holly had been questioning Martin Flanagan for over two hours. Holly had allowed Santana and Lauren to question the wife and the woman admitted that she had a great Aunt named Sylvie, but that the woman was from her mother's side of the family and had never been a Henderson. The name Richard Forde meant absolutely nothing to her.

Lauren probed the woman about Eva Hernandez and either she knew nothing at all about the nurse, or she was a good actress.

As they were about to call their questioning to a close, Santana decided to raise one more topic.

"Susan Pierce?"

"Martin's first wife." The woman answered flatly.

"How long had you and Martin been having an affair before you fell pregnant?"

"About three months."

"How did you react when you found out Susan was also pregnant around the same time? How did you feel to know that he was obviously still sleeping with his wife?" Santana noticed the woman clench her jaw at the question.

"I was the other woman Senior Constable. His wife had needs. One must to do certain things in order to maintain the façade of a marriage." Santana exchanged a look with Lauren noticing the bitterness which oozed from the woman as she spoke.

A chill ran down her spine as she wondered, for the first time, whether this woman could be angry enough to take her feelings towards Susan Pierce out on the woman's daughter.

"When did you last see Martin's daughter Brittany Pierce?" Santana asked cautiously.

The woman, who had been studying the interview room table quickly snapped her eyes towards Santana. "I've never met the girl."

* * *

_**Monday 17:00**_

Holly and Sylvester's interrogation of Martin Flanagan also left them with little more information. The man had appeared shocked to the point of disbelief that his youngest son even knew Eva Hernandez, let alone could have had a relationship with her. He acknowledged that the young man had worked at a Summer Camp whilst he was studying, but appeared genuinely unaware of any connection between the two.

The officers had asked him about his daughter and were surprised by the man's tone of regret as he spoke of not having seen her since he and Susan had divorced.

The only time the man seemed to live up to his reputation of being angry and aggressive was when the names of the Hernandez men were mentioned.

He had apparently referred to Felipe as a 'soft-cock' who couldn't get a job done right if he tried. He had stated Ernie's and several of his lackeys deserved to 'have a bullet in them', but that he and his boys knew it wasn't worth the chaos which would then ensue.

After speaking with Holly, Santana packed up her things and went via the Control Room to see whether any of their checks had returned any information. Artie said that Eva's phone was still going to voicemail and that the traffic camera facial surveillance had picked up nothing. The only significant piece of information he had to report was something Santana already knew.

Sylvia Henderson had not contacted Brittany.

* * *

_**Tuesday 9:00**_

Briefing had been run by Shannon as Holly was at the gym after being contacted by Martinez, but very little had been accomplished in two hours as the whole crew were on edge to see what information the man had passed on.

"Alright crew, we now have a massive day ahead of us. Martinez confirmed this morning that Eva is missing. The family found out about it early yesterday when she was meant to have met up with her brother. When she didn't show, the family checked every avenue they could and found nothing. This has officially become a missing person's case for _us_, but the Hernandez family have not reported it to police. Martinez said they want to handle it themselves and they have some suspicions. Not surprisingly the Flanagan's are on their list. So we need to act. We need to act today and we need to keep it all on the DL. Clear?" Everyone nodded.

* * *

**Tuesday 13:00**

With Will off on sick leave yet again, Lauren had been paired with Holly to ruffle the feathers of Flanagan's boys.

Mike and Santana had been given the responsibility of checking out an old, run down property which was still registered to Martin Flanagan. It had been the location of a raid several years before, resulting in the arrest of Patrick Flanagan. Since then the building had apparently been vacant, but was still under the ownership of the family.

Santana checked and re-checked her CommSy as she and Mike made their way tentatively around the perimeter of the property. She pressed down the receiver and spoke in a low tone, "Abrams, can you see clearly?"

"Santana, that's the second time you've asked me. I can see everything you're seeing, it's on the big screen now. If there's something specific you are concerned I'll miss, just make sure to point your right shoulder in the direction of it. All audio and visual is 100%, now stop fiddling with the equipment and give me something to look at."

Santana relaxed, feeling confident that both Artie and Mike were extra pairs of eyes for her right now. She knew the likelihood of Eva Hernandez being at the first location she checked was incredibly slim, but she was desperate to find the woman alive.

Taking a calming breath she nodded to Mike and the two headed silently for the front door of the building. Santana released her weapon from the holster around her thigh and curled her left hand around the grip before placing her right over the top of it.

The two were unable to hear any sounds coming from inside the building and Mike signalled for Santana to go around to the back entrance. When she was standing outside the back door she pressed the receiver on her CommSy and whispered 'back'. Mike returned the call and whispered 'front' and then added '3,2,1, go'. Santana took a half step back and rammed her foot against the old wooden door which flew open and hit dramatically against the inside wall.

Taking careful steps along the wooden flooring, Santana had her gun raised directly under her line of sight. Scanning the room quickly she moved into the hallway and turned directly into the next room. As she approached the kitchen area she saw Mike enter the room and indicated that they should check out the upstairs. The two walked side up the narrow stair case, backs against the wall and Mike pulled up suddenly when they heard a creaking of floorboards above them.

Indicating for Santana to stay low, Mike crept up the stairs and checked the landing, motioning for the Latina to join him when it was clear. With only a single door to their right, Mike carefully turned the handle and checked the room before turning back towards Santana. The two walked cautiously along the corridor each checking a room on either side, directly opposite one another. With both rooms clear they continued on their path, but they froze in place when they heard a muffled scream. With one room left at the end of the corridor, both officers approached it together. Santana was sure Mike would be able to hear her heart rate which was pulsating in her own ears.

As Santana stood to the right of the door, Mike positioned himself in front of the left. After three nods of his head, Mike slammed his boot into the door and Santana raised her gun, aiming toward the left of the room. As Santana moved with her back positioned against the, now open, door, Mike leant against the opposite wall. This time Santana nodded her head three times and the two swung into the room, eyes and pistols scanning every inch of space.

Hearing another muffled sound, the two cautiously walked towards a cupboard at the far end of the room. With the door of the cupboard opening out into the room, Mike stood to the left, gun raised while Santana grasped the knob. Nod, Nod, Nod. Santana wrenched the door open and she nearly had a heart attack when a mangy cat came rushing out. As she took a deep breath, a stench filled her nose and Mike doubled over, dry reaching. Stepping around from behind the door she peered into the cupboard only to find it full of dead mice and a mutilated rat.

The two exited the building at top speed, both breathing deeply into the fresh air.

They were about to get into their vehicle when Artie's voice came through their ear pieces asking if they were on their way back.

"Yep, tell Holly the building was all clear."

"Okay, but guys, you need to get back here ASAP. There's been another development."

* * *

_**Tuesday 14:15**_

"Alright Wheels, we're all here."

"Thanks Holly. An hour ago I received a secure email from David Martinez containing video footage he shot on his phone of a video the family received. Eva Hernandez is alive, but whoever has her is after Ernie's money."

The group were crowded into the control room and Artie fiddled with one of the large screen displays, bringing up the footage from Martinez. The footage itself was shaky and the sound quality poor. It had also been shot from the back of the room and several other heads moved in and out of focus, further obscuring the screen being recorded.

The footage displayed Eva Hernandez, hair hanging limply around her face, as she was tied to a chair in the middle of a darkened room which gave nothing away.

Her voice was the only one to be heard and from the pace of her words and the occasional squinting of her eyes, it appeared she was reading from a sign to the right of the camera. Eva was heard to assure her family that she had not yet been harmed, but that it was guaranteed to occur should the deal not be met. The family were being given two days to come up with $500,000 in exchange for Eva's safety.

* * *

_**Tuesday 21:45**_

Santana had been lying in bed wide awake for close to an hour going over the events of the past two days. Something about that ransom video rubbed her the wrong way and she couldn't shake the feeling that they were being manipulated by someone.

Eva had seemed genuinely scared at the hospital on Saturday. She seemed as though she had been living in fear for some time. If Blaine's theory was correct and one person was responsible for the deaths of Cheryl, Rory and Felipe, then it didn't add up that this same person would use Eva just to get half a million.

Knowing she'd never be able to sleep with this on her mind, she phoned Brittany for the second time that evening and asked if she could stay with her. The dancer spoke to Blaine who agreed to pick Santana up from the 7/11 a block away from the house if she could get there by cab.

* * *

_**Tuesday 22:15**_

Santana wandered into the well-lit corner shop and bought gum and a bottle of iced tea before wandering back outside. Blaine was waiting for her and the two took a long route back to Brittany's.

"So tell me, are you girls going to kick us all out of the house again tonight?" Blaine asked with a smirk.

Santana blushed, grateful that streetlights were few and far between, and cleared her throat before responding. "That was _all_ Brittany, and no. There's absolutely no need for anyone to go anywhere tonight, I just need sleep and…it might sound pathetic, but I don't think that would happen if I was on my own." Santana fidgeted with her bag in her lap, not knowing what else to say and was surprised when Blaine's voice filled the silence.

"That doesn't sound pathetic at all. It sounds nice actually. Forgetting this job and the current circumstances, I wish that I had someone I could go to on nights like this. I completely understand that being around Brittany may be the only time you feel you can relax right now."

Santana smiled at the man as they drove up the driveway next to Brittany's house and parked under the carport. She felt at ease knowing that someone like Blaine was responsible for Brittany's safety.

The two wandered up the back stairs of the porch and into the kitchen where Sugar was making a warm drink.

"I'm heading straight to bed ladies, Santana I'll drive you back to the 7/11 in the morning if you're happy to get a cab from there. 6 am?"

"6am would be fine, are you sure?"

"Positive. Goodnight ladies."

Blaine wandered out of the room and Sugar offered Santana a drink, but she declined saying she just needed to sleep. Sugar said Brittany was in bed going over some stuff for work and that she should head straight up. They said goodnight and Santana headed along to Brittany's room.

Pushing the door open gently she peaked in only to see Brittany asleep sitting up with reading her glasses on and a bunch of papers scattered over the bed. She smiled at how adorable the woman looked and quietly set down her bag and slipped off her shoes before walking over to tidy up the mess.

She stacked the papers and put them on Brittany's nightstand and tried carefully to slide the dancer's glasses off her nose. Instead she woke the blonde who smiled lazily at her and took the glasses off, setting them down before pulling Santana towards her.

"I'm so glad you're here. It's so much better than a damn phone."

Santana hummed in agreement as she placed light kisses to Brittany's forehead and cheeks before capturing the dancer's lips with her own. "So much better."

She hopped off the bed and slipped off her sweat pants and hoody, shivering as she slid under the covers in her tank top and panties. Brittany shimmied over to her and ran her palm up and down Santana's arm to warm her before running her fingers through Santana's hair.

Feeling her eyelids getting heavy, Santana smiled at the light kisses the dancer was placing against her cheeks. With the rhythmic sensation of Brittany's fingers against her scalp, the officer fell asleep without another thought of the dramas of the day and the boxes in the back of her mind secure still.


	21. Chapter 21

**Okay- this one's for mcastro2094 who, when everyone else was in a mad panic that Eva was suddenly MIA, just wanted Brittana to go out dancing :)**

* * *

**Chapter 21: Click**

Brittany continued playing with the Latina's hair until she saw her entire body had relaxed and her breathing had become even. Snuggling into Santana's side, she draped one arm across her body, holding her close and, smiling, drifted into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

A light buzzing from under Brittany's pillow woke her at 4:45am. Having had it set to phone Santana, for the last two mornings, she had forgotten to turn it off. Smiling, she remembered why that would be unnecessary today and rolled over to find the gorgeous officer sleeping peacefully, and snoring ever so lightly, beside her. Brittany grinned at how dark hair covered the entire pillow and as she scanned the incredible body beside her she spied a fraction of tanned skin exposed where the officer's white tank top had ridden up.

Knowing Santana would probably be up soon anyway she decided to see just how deeply the woman was sleeping. Cosying up beside her, as she had the night before, she allowed her fingers to delicately trace light circles around the officer's navel and over toned abs. Santana flinched as Brittany's fingers strayed too far left and rolled her body inward, now facing the dancer.

Brittany smiled to herself as she flattened her palm against the woman's stomach and slid it slowly upwards. Pushing Santana's tank top even higher she stopped just underneath the Latina's left breast and let her fingers dance around its curve. She watched the officer began to stir as her nipples hardened visibly through her top. Keeping her hand in position, Brittany pushed herself down the bed so that her lips were where her hand had first begun. As Santana slowly awoke, the dancer let her hand travel, cupping one of the Latina's breasts while she began placing light kisses over the officer's stomach.

When Brittany involved her tongue, drawing words and patterns on tanned skin, Santana gasped.

"Britt, _what_ are you _doing_?" The officer ran her fingers through Brittany's long hair and instinctively pressed herself closer to the blonde.

"Waking you up." Brittany smirked and raised her head to make eye contact with Santana. "Good morning." She grinned.

"Good morning yourself. I could _easily_ wake up like this every day, what's the time?" Santana rolled onto her back and glanced towards the nightstand, grabbing the bottle of iced tea she'd bought at the 7/11. She took a gulp from the bottle as Brittany fiddled under her pillow for her phone.

"Almost 5."

"Why are _you_ awake so early Britt?"

"Well if you weren't here it would be almost time to call you." Brittany answered shyly.

Brittany felt herself being pulled back into Santana and the officer put a hand behind the blonde's head and playfully pressed it against her torso. "Well it's a good thing I'm _here_ then. Continue."

The two laughed and Brittany kissed her way up Santana's body and pushed against the officer's shoulder, forcing her onto her back once more. Shifting herself over so that her body was between the Latina's legs, she lowered herself slowly until her lips met Santana's.

She felt the officer flick her tongue against her lips and smiled, tasting a hint of mango as their tongues began to battle playfully inside each other's mouths.

"Do you normally shower _before_ work, or when you _get_ there?" Brittany asked suggestively as she straddled Santana's hips and ran her hands up and down the Latina's body.

"Be-fore." Santana answered tentatively, eyeing the blonde suspiciously. "Britt, are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

Brittany raised her eyebrows, smiling at the Latina. "Well, I don't think I've showered this early in my _life_, _but_ I could be persuaded to join you if you think you'd need some help…" Brittany finished this suggestion with a slow, languid kiss to the officer's lips.

* * *

Brittany peeked out her bedroom door and scanned the hallway in both directions. Grabbing Santana by the hand she tiptoed past Blaine and Becky's rooms and into the bathroom, the officer stifling a giggle behind her.

She closed the door, turning the key in the lock and spun around to face the Latina. "What's so funny?"

Santana smiled. "I feel like we're teenagers and we could get sprung by your parents any minute."

Brittany put her arms around the officer's neck and began placing kisses against the smooth skin of her neck. "Well you've been on the receiving end of Becky's vicious, vicious words before. You do _not_ want to see _her_ cranky in the mornings." Brittany walked Santana back until she was against the bathroom cabinet and the Latina gasped as Brittany pressed her body into her.

With nimble fingers she removed the officer's top before reaching down and pulling her own up over her head. They both moaned as their bare chests made contact and Brittany felt her lower abdominals twitch as Santana brought a hand between them and slipped her fingers into the waist band of her bed shorts. She kissed the Latina more desperately as the material slipped down her legs and Santana dragged her short fingernails up her thighs and over her bare ass.

Brittany turned and reached into the shower to get the water running and saw Santana slipping out of her panties, in her peripheral vision. Reaching a hand out behind her, she waited until she felt the officer's in her own before tugging her into the shower along with her.

If Brittany thought she was turned on before, that was nothing compared to what she felt as she watched the water run over Santana's smooth skin. Without wasting another moment she turned the Latina in her arms and pushed her gently against the tiled wall. She immediately started rocking her hips lightly against Santana and she heard her own name spill from the officer's lips as she placed kisses against her shoulders. Bringing her hands around to the Latina's chest, she cupped each breast, massaging gently and allowed the pads of her fingers to draw small circles over hardened nipples.

Feeling the officer arching her body back into her she flattened one palm against Santana's torso and slid it painfully slowly down her body. Reaching the Latina's hips she ran her hand over the top of her thigh, squeezing gently. She teased long fingers over tanned flesh, relishing in the feeling of the hot water snaking down the small gap between their bodies.

"Britt, please." Santana begged, her panting breaths becoming more desperate as the dancer's fingers teased higher.

Brittany obliged, moving her hand towards Santana's centre and sliding her fingers through the wetness there, stopping at the Latina's entrance.

"Oh, Britt, fuck me!" Santana threw her head back onto Brittany's shoulder and moaned as the dancer pushed a finger easily inside her. The dancer pressed herself harder against the Latina and smirked as she kissed her way up the officer's neck thinking, at this angle, it almost felt as though she was fucking herself.

"More!" Santana reached a hand up behind Brittany's head and craned her neck, capturing the blonde's lips as Brittany added a second finger.

"Fuck Britt!" Santana murmured against the dancer's lips and Brittany felt the words plunge straight to her core.

Brittany worked her fingers in and out of the Latina as she continued to massage her other hand against the officer's breast. Feeling Santana's walls tighten around her, more with every thrust, she moved her thumb lightly over her swollen clit and it was enough to send the officer over the edge. As she steadied the Latina against the wall of the shower, her body writhing in pleasure, Brittany continued to roll her body against the officer and was surprised when she felt the intensity of the pressure which had built up inside of her. Stilling her fingers inside of Santana, she closed her eyes and listened to the officer's erratic breaths as her muscles clenched sporadically. The throbbing between her own legs was almost unbearable and was increased as Santana grasped her wrist, slowly removing the dancer's fingers from inside her and turned, taking Brittany's fingers into her mouth as she did so.

The blonde felt herself being pulled closer to the Latina, one arm snaked around her back, as Santana now had her pushed up against the wall. The officer removed Brittany's fingers from her mouth and flicked out her tongue a final time, running it between them as she pressed her thigh between the dancer's.

"Fuck!" Brittany's curse was swallowed up by warm lips which moved against hers slowly as a hand travelled down to her right thigh and slipped behind, pulling it up to rest around Santana's waist.

The angle, and sensation of Santana's hot, wet body against her centre, caused her head to roll back and rest against the wall. The officer's lips took full advantage of her exposed neck and she felt the Latina thrust her hips into her with every kiss.

The motion of rolling down into each of Santana's upward movements had her coming hard in no time and she bought both hands to the officer's jaw to connect their lips as she tried to kiss her between gasps of pleasure.

* * *

Brittany was positive that she wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything all day after that start to her morning. She waved Santana off as she left with Blaine at 6am, hair still dripping, having not had time to dry it in the mad flurry which followed Blaine's interruption of them back in her bed 15 minutes prior.

Sugar greeted her with a slap on her exposed arm as she sat at the kitchen bench trying to eat her cereal with a jaw which was aching from too much grinning and too much -

"Hey! What was that for?" Brittany's spoon clattered noisily into her bowl as she brought her other hand over to rub the smarting skin.

"Well I'm going to have to boil the _kettle_ to make myself a little _wash basin_ to remove the _conditioner_ from my _hair_! Your little tryst used up all the _fucking_ hot water!" Sugar pulled the tie on her robe tighter as she filled the kettle and Brittany cringed, briefly, before her grin overtook her features once more.

Moving around the counter the placed her bowl in the sink and grabbed one of the kitchen stools. Placing it in front of the sink, she retrieved a large plastic mixing bowl and a jug from the cupboard under the counter and grabbed Sugar by the waist, pulling her into position on the stool.

"Let me."

Feeling only mildly guilty and highly amused, she mixed some cold water from the tap with some that had boiled in the kettle and poured it through Sugar's hair.

Towelling it dry for the woman, she lowered her head and tried to supress a smile as she offered up an apology, trying her best to sound as sincere as possible.

"It's okay, next time just give me a heads up and I'll shower at work." Sugar smiled, but made sure to slap Brittany's other arm before smirking and walking out of the room to change.

After Blaine returned from dropping Santana off, she suggested to him that _he_ shower at the studio and the three readied themselves to leave for work almost an hour earlier than usual. As they headed to the front door Brittany cringed again at the sound of Becky opening the glass shower door and turning on the water.

_One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississi-_

"BRITTANY!"

Opening the door and ushering the other two out she let it shut quickly behind her. She'd have that argument later.

* * *

With three different classes on Wednesday being girls from Jane Addams Academy, Brittany felt herself thinking about Eva just as much as she thought about Santana. Regardless, she was decidedly distracted and, for the first time, she really felt as though her heart wasn't in her teaching.

Retrieving her flip cam and tripod from her office, she attached the two and set them up at the front of the room. Running through the routine with her senior girls again, she taped their rehearsal before giving them a ten minute water break while she loaded the footage onto her laptop. She made a clip of the routine at full speed, then at half speed and then set it up in the middle of the room for the girls to watch an analyse themselves.

Grabbing her iPhone off the top of the stereo she sat down crossed legged, slightly behind the group of girls surrounding the computer, and typed out a message to Santana.

_Any news on Eva yet?_

She tapped her phone against her palm impatiently as she waited for a response knowing it was silly to expect one quickly when her girlfriend was so busy. Letting her gaze wander over the students in front of her, she was taken back to that day eight years ago when she first encountered the Jane Addams girls performing in the McKinley auditorium.

Brittany was still tapping her phone against her palm when raucous laughter broke out from the girls in front of her. Apparently seeing their own facial expressions at half speed was the funniest thing in the universe with some girls doubled over and others wiping tears from their eyes.

Brittany was about to intervene when her phone buzzed in her hand.

"Hey San."

"Hi babe, aren't you back to back until 12 today? Everything alright?" There was concern in the officer's voice, but this was not unusual. Lately, whenever they were apart, the Latina was uneasy as though only she could protect Brittany from everything that was going on.

"Yeah, all good. I've got JA seniors now but they're busy and I can't really concentrate on anything today." The dancer was disappointed with herself for not being able to clear her head.

"Well I'm having trouble concentrating too, actually," Brittany smiled at the playful tone in her girlfriend's voice, "…every time I close my eyes I get these…flashbacks."

Brittany stood up from the floor and moved to the furthest corner of the room, feeling lighter than she had been since work had begun. "Well would it help you to concentrate if I suggested a re-enactment tonight?"

"Um, no Britt. That wouldn't help me in the slightest, I'm probably going to get even less done now. Thanks very much!" Santana laughed and the two sighed into the phone before the officer spoke again.

"Um, Britt, about Eva. We won't know anything more until Friday probably. It's one of those situations where no news _is_ actually good news. Martinez said that her family are going through with the ransom meet on Thursday and he will meet again with Holly on Friday and let us know the verdict. It still seems odd to me, but half a million for her safe return…well, we're just hoping that's how it goes down." Santana was keeping her voice low, almost to a whisper and Brittany knew that she wasn't meant to be aware of any of this. She appreciated the officer breaking the rules for her. _Constantly_.

"Okay. Will I see you tonight San?"

"I'm thinking I'll just go home tonight babe, both the girls are home and I should probably spend some time with them, but we're still going to check out this new club tomorrow night aren't we?"

Brittany beamed. She'd thought Santana had forgotten, having not mentioned it since the other night. "Yes, definitely. Will we just meet there? Blaine's going to be there of course, and I thought I'd ask Kurt so the two can…talk."

Santana chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they're onto you, you know. Yeah, how about you meet me there about 9. I'll get there a bit earlier so we're not seen together. Can we maybe not make it a late one though? I'll still have to be up early for work Friday."

Brittany smiled into the phone. "I just want to dance with you. It doesn't have to be a long night at all." The JA girls began to move around, talking and grabbing drinks, indicating that the video had finished. "Hey San, I gotta go. Call me later?"

"How about you text me when you're getting into bed."

Brittany lowered her head, feeling her pulse quicken at the suggestive tone in Santana's voice. "O-kay, and why would do I need to wait until I'm in bed?"

"I was just thinking, maybe we could put Facetime to better use."

Brittany felt herself blush as her pulse reached lower and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Well I guess I will _see_ you later after all."

"Oh, you _definitely_ will." Santana ended the call and Brittany sighed audibly, staring at her phone for a moment before muffled giggles reached her ears.

Looking up she noticed four of the JA girls had approached her and were standing only a few feet away with smirks across each of their faces. _God, how much did they hear?_ She walked towards the girls, unsure of what to say and while she was trying to construct a basic sentence, Peyton spoke up instead.

"So Miss P, you got yourself a hot date or somethin'?" She and the girls snickered again and Brittany felt her face flush once more, her mouth opening, but unable to respond. _Okay, they heard enough_.

"Oh she ain't got no _date_ Pey, that sounded like a _booty call_ to me." A shorter girl spoke up from behind Peyton and Brittany's eyes widened before she snapped back into teacher mode.

"Kit, that's kind of inappropriate." She moved past the girls and headed back towards the main group who were lounging against the studio wall which bordered her office.

"Well isn't it kind of inappropriate to get your hook ups on at work?"

Brittany rolled her eyes and didn't even entertain the girl with a response.

"Is he cute at least?" Peyton ventured.

Brittany turned at this, folded her arms and narrowed her eyes slightly, scanning the four sets of prying eyes in front of her. "_She_ is gorgeous, now drop it otherwise you each have solos front and centre for the next two weeks."

As she turned back around she heard two of the girls high five each other and was unable to decipher which voice whispered, "That's so awesome, I knew it!"

* * *

With Becky babysitting Beth while Puck was at work on Wednesday night, Brittany had managed to avoid an ear bashing over the hot water incident. Karen was staying with her sister for a couple of weeks, on Puck's insistence, as he knew she wouldn't be able to help herself running around after Beth and picking the girl up. Even though the doctors had said she was in the clear, they emphasised that she had been very lucky and she needed to make changes to her lifestyle in order to avoid another heart attack.

She quit smoking the very next day and Becky had bought her a giant store box of gum to keep on the kitchen bench, instructing her replace smoking with chewing. Brittany had heard her explaining to Karen that her own mother had managed to quit, cold turkey, the same way and while she chewed the gum she would challenge herself to tear the wrapper continuously until it was in one long, thin strip. Brittany smiled, remembering Donna's odd habit and recalling how she and Becky would measure the strips from time to time and had even made her a chart for the fridge with the longest strips recorded as a challenge for future endeavours.

Brittany was thinking about Donna and her own mother when Becky dragged her feet into the kitchen the next morning.

"Hey Shorty." Brittany offered cautiously.

"Hey yourself. It was nice to be able to shower this morning, with _warm_ water, in my _own_ house." Brittany tried to hide a smirk at Becky's passive-aggressive greeting.

"I hope you realise that I had to go over to Puck's and use their shower and the douche walked in on me while I was drying off!" Becky narrowed her eyes at Brittany and the dancer felt her own widen before she burst out laughing at the image in her mind.

Becky stood with her hands on her hips waiting for Brittany to settle down and then handed her a cloth to wipe the half chewed cereal spray from the bench.

Brittany took a deep breath and hopped off her chair, moving around the counter towards Becky with both hands up. "I'm sorry, okay. I'm really sorry. I won't happen again, cross my heart."

The dancer made a crossing motion over her chest. "I guess we got a little carried away." She shrugged her shoulder, an exaggerated cringe on her face finally breaking Becky's mood.

"Whatever, sex addict. Where's your spicy tortilla right now huh? She still in bed or did she do the walk of shame super early?" Becky cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrows in mock challenge, but Brittany could see the smile she was fighting to keep from taking over her mouth.

"Her name is San-ta-na." Brittany stared the girl down with a playful glare. "I don't think you've _ever_ called her by name. _Anyway_ she didn't stay last night, but here's a warning, I plan on bringing her back here after _Click_ tonight." Brittany stated this in a matter of fact tone and finished her coffee before placing the cup in the sink.

"So…you're seeing someone else besides San-ta-na then? Britt, that's _not_ cool." Brittany frowned at Becky's disapproving glance. She wasn't kidding.

"What are you talking about? We spoke about this. I'm totally into her, I've kind of-I'm actually…it's just her okay, nobody else. I'm really serious about her Becky." Brittany felt her chest rising and falling rapidly and hadn't realised how fast she'd been talking.

"Okay, slow down. So she really didn't stay here last night?" Becky clarified and Brittany shook her head slowly, still confused.

"Well in that case _Hand Solo_, you really need to learn to keep it down. I could hear you up the hall when I came in last night." Becky snorted, amused by Brittany's deep red cheeks and walked out of the kitchen with a spring in her step that had certainly not been present upon her arrival.

Brittany remained frozen to the spot, her mouth slightly agape, thinking back to her phone call with Santana from the night before. Her thoughts were interrupted by Blaine who walked into the kitchen, his usually slicked back hair looking more like an afro.

"Where's Santana?" He asked through a yawn. "She didn't need a ride this morning?" He didn't make eye contact with her, but went about setting out a bowl and a spoon before reaching for the cereal in the top cupboard.

"Um, no she-I guess she took a cab." Brittany put both hands to her, still burning, cheeks and waited for a smart response or jovial comeback from the man, but he said no more. The blonde rinsed the breakfast items in the sink before loading the dishwasher at top speed and racing out of the kitchen.

Bumping into Sugar in the hallway, she could tell by the woman's smirk that Becky had reached her first. Brittany stood, arms folded in front of her, daring the woman to make a comment.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Sugar tied up her leopard print robe and quirked an eyebrow at the blonde.

"Just say it, I know what Becky told you. Come on, get whatever it is off your chest now so I don't have to wait all day for you to laugh at my expense." Brittany was aware she was pouting like a small child, but she'd almost died of embarrassment when Becky had called her out moments before.

"Sweetie, we all do it _and_ I've slept in the room next door to you for the past _six years_. It's hardly the first time I've _wrongly assumed_ you've had company." Stifling a giggle Sugar padded down the hall and Brittany walked straight to her room, throwing herself face down on the bed.

* * *

The rest of her Thursday had been decidedly uneventful and, after confirming arrangements with Santana for their evening out, she ordered pizza for herself, Sugar, Becky, Blaine and Kurt. She and Sugar exchanged many a thoughtful glance across the dining table at the interactions between Kurt and Blaine. Kurt, who was usually poised and confident, was nervous and self-conscious in his interactions with the ex-cop. Blaine was clearly interested but, if anything, he was balancing out Kurt's shy behaviour by initiating conversation and laughing at each of the shorter man's feeble attempts at a joke.

Turning her attention away from the men, Sugar spoke directly to Brittany. "So are you going in some kind of disguise tonight?"

Brittany shook her head, knowing her friend was serious, despite how ridiculous the questions sounded. "No, Santana is arriving about a half hour before with some friends and I feel fine with Blaine there and apparently he's had the club up their initial security plans, is that right?" She turned to Blaine who was sitting to her left.

"Yeah, Benny is a mate of mine from the Academy and he has his own security business. He knows Santana too. Anyway, I just said there's a case at the moment in which someone is targeting gay women and with Click being promoted primarily as a gay club, I said the perp may try something. So he's put two more guards in the club and set up a direct feed from his cameras to the SRS warehouse."

Kurt appeared awestruck as he gazed at Blaine from the opposite side of the table and the raised his eyebrows at Brittany. "All that so _you_ can go out and have a little dance with your _girlfriend_?"

Brittany swallowed a mouthful of pizza. "When you put it like that, it does sound kind of extreme."

Blaine shrugged his shoulders. "I have a discretionary budget for this case. Holly won't ask questions. It's kind of stressful for everyone. We could all do with having a little fun." The man wiggled his eyebrows at Kurt who turned a deep shade of red before wiping his mouth with a napkin and excusing himself from the table.

* * *

Brittany was surprised to feel slightly nervous as they descended the staircase into the new club. The beat of the music became louder with each step and strobe lighting bounced off the walls in every direction. The entire club was filled with black, blue and purple décor and even though it was a small space the curved wall behind the dance floor was mirrored, making it seem twice as large.

Santana had text her moments before saying she was at the far end of the bar with Mercedes and Sam. Brittany headed in that direction, pushing and squeezing through throngs of people with Sugar, Blaine and Kurt in tow.

When Brittany spied Santana, the flickering lights casting a glow over her tanned skin and dark hair, she stopped still, momentarily, to appreciate the sight. Santana threw her head back to laugh at something which had been said and as she shook her head her eyes met Brittany's only a few feet away.

Santana raised her eyebrows, smirking as she finished her drink and sat the glass on the bar before making her way eagerly towards Brittany. The officer reached out a hand, once she was close enough, and Brittany felt herself being dragged through the crowd, reaching out a hand to Sugar to pull the girl along behind her.

When the three reached Mercedes and Sam, Brittany noticed that they had managed to find the one small pocket of space in which there was, thankfully, room to move. Before the blonde even had the chance to speak, Santana had circled one arm around her waist and pulled their bodies flush, bringing her other hand to Brittany's chin and seizing her lips. Brittany fell into the kiss, forgetting they were in public, forgetting their friends were looking on and put her arms around the officer's neck, pulling her in deeper.

When the women eventually pried themselves apart, slightly breathless and, in Brittany's case, incredibly flushed. Their five friends applauded and Sam put his thumb and finger in his mouth and whistled audibly, despite the loud music and received a jab in the ribs from Mercedes' elbow.

"So have you guys all met now?" Santana eyed the group who seemed to be on the same page already.

"Oh, we're old friends now girl, you two just carry on, we don't need you." Mercedes flipped her hand at Santana as she joked and proceeded to introduce herself and Sam to Brittany's friends.

The group ordered shots and once they'd recovered, Brittany leant over and raised her voice to be heard above the music. "So Mercedes, you don't mind if I steal her away for a dance then?"

The shorter woman smiled at her and let out a throaty laugh. "Girl, you better steal her far, far away, 'cos if anything like last night goes down, I don't need to be a witness again!"

Brittany shot a glance at Sugar, who simply smirked and shrugged her shoulders and the dancer turned quickly towards Santana, wide eyed, in time to see the Latina land a back handed slap against her friend's arm.

"Well at least nothing fell off the _walls_ last night, ha Sam." Santana rocked her head side to side as she spoke, arms folded and Brittany covered her mouth, laughing at the guilty looks on both Sam and Mercedes faces. "I guess we even now, girl." The officer pointed a finger at Mercedes before turning and offering a hand to Brittany.

* * *

As the sounds of a remixed hip hop tune filled the club the two danced their way towards the back of the dance floor and moved their bodies, as one, to the beat. Brittany knew Santana could dance, but she liked that the Latina let her control their pace. Needing to look at the officer, Brittany resisted the urge to turn her around for as long as possible and, instead, teased an exposed thigh between two tanned ones.

Santana pulled Brittany closer to her, tangling her fingers in blonde hair and moving the dancer's ear directly in front of her warm lips. Brittany felt Santana's tongue graze the shell of her ear before she spoke. "If you keep doing _that_, we're not going to be able to stay out very long."

Brittany knew that Santana was more than aware of her relentless need to tease her and she figured, with that comment, the officer had essentially asked her to take it up a notch.

Turning Santana in her arms, Brittany moved her hair aside and ran the tip of her tongue up smooth skin, stopping at her ear lobe. "You'll stay here as long as _I_ want you to _and_ you'll just have to deal with the consequences."

Santana turned back towards her, eyes hooded and kissed her deeply before adding. "No, _you_ will."

_Challenge accepted_. Brittany turned her again and began moving against Santana, hands roaming suggestively. The blonde's fingers travelled over every inch of exposed skin she could reach and when she slipped a finger under the hem of Santana's short, short dress and moved it towards her inner thigh, the officer span around once again.

"Oh, what are you doing to me?" Santana breathed and kissed her with such force that she almost fell, grasping at the bar which ran through the centre of the mirrored wall. "_So_ wet Britt."

Brittany felt her heart rate pick up and her pulse travel downward as the officer's tongue made contact with hers and she felt herself being pushed against the wall of the club, both kissing each other desperately.

Suddenly conscious of where they were, Brittany opened her eyes, slowed their kisses and tried to tone down their dancing so that each touch was slightly less intense. Knowing she'd receive a talk from Sugar if she'd witnessed such a display, she allowed her eyes to scan the dance floor for any member of their collective group of friends.

She spotted Blaine and Kurt at the far end, through a small part in the crowd, the two men dancing together but obviously wary about being too close. She smiled to herself and scanned back along the crowd, her eyes coming to rest on two girls a few feet away. Both girls looked familiar, but Brittany had trouble placing their faces. The shorter girl had her dark hair cropped short in an Anne Hathaway style pixie cut, while the other girl's hair was longer, shaggy blonde, covering her ears.

Brittany gasped as the two moved around and she could see the shorter girl's face clearly.

"Santana! Rachel Berry's over there and she's dancing with another girl!"

"Where?"

Santana made to turn her head, but Brittany stopped her placing a hand to her cheek. "Like, right behind us, don't turn around you'll make it obvious."

Brittany looked back over Santana's shoulder trying to get a better look at the blonde girl Rachel Berry was with, but the two were conjoined in a fairly intense kiss.

"Oh my God, she's kissing the other girl!"

Santana was watching the pair in the mirror's reflection. "Britt, calm your fan girling, seriously. If she releases that poor blonde I'll introduce the two of you, okay."

Brittany thanked Santana in advance with a kiss and then quickly went back to staring over the officer's shoulder. As the other couple broke for air, the shaggy haired blonde straightened up, turning her head, and Brittany locked eyes with her, instantly recalling why her face also seemed familiar.

"Oh shit." She whispered in Santana's ear. "The blonde Rachel was kissing, it's that cop I told you about from years ago!"

Brittany felt like laughing, sure the girl had recognised her too by the look on her face, but instead she frowned, feeling Santana tense under her touch.

"That's not her babe." Santana'e eyes were locked on the woman's, and Brittany saw the woman break away from Rachel, approaching them with a look which could only be disapproval. Santana turned as the woman reached them. "Britt, her name's…"

"Luce?" Brittany interrupted, directing the name like a question at the woman in front of them.

"Quinn." Both Santana and the woman said simultaneously.

Brittany looked from one to the other, dumbfounded as the two stared each other down, neither saying anything. Santana let her arm drop from around Brittany's waist and brought them both to her chest, crossing them defensively.

"What the fuck are you doing here with _her_ Santana?" The woman named Quinn folded her arms now, and the pained expression on her face sent Brittany's heart into her throat.

_Quinn. Quinn who? Why do I know that name? Is she an ex? Santana never talked about her ex's._

"No, you're definitely that cop." Brittany put her hand to her mouth, not meaning to have said the words aloud.

Both Santana and Quinn looked at Brittany and then at each other, confusion now on both of their faces before Quinn spoke again. "You can't be here with her Santana, you can't be anywhere with _her_, if Holly knew what you were…"

"Holly _knows_, and she's fine with it." Santana spit the words out at the other woman and, hearing Holly's name, Brittany was finally able to make the connection with the SRS. Relieved that another night out dancing hadn't been ruined by a crazy ex-of Santana's, she grew confident and snaked her arm around the back of her girlfriend, rubbing a soothing hand up and down her side. She felt Santana relax into the touch and throw her an apologetic sideways glance.

Brittany stuck out her other hand towards the blonde officer. "My name is Brittany, but I think you knew that already." Quinn shook her hand automatically, removing it quickly before narrowing her eyes and puzzling at her once more. "I'm sure I look familiar, I know there are a few pictures of me at the SRS, but we've also met before _Luce_. I called myself Sugar _that_ night."

Santana's head swung quickly in Brittany's direction and the dancer smirked at the look of shock there, as well as in Quinn eyes which were impossibly wide.

"I-don't, you're not, I'm," the woman shook her head on every broken syllable before freezing as recognition finally set in, "…fuck!"

"Wow _Fabray_, here you are telling _me_ not to go there and it looks like you got there _ahead_ of me." Santana clapped her hands slowly in front of the woman's face before grabbing Brittany by the hand.

"We're leaving babe."


	22. Chapter 22

**Thanks for sticking with me folks. This Chapter has been split into two as it was getting ridulously long. Hope to post the second half within the week (we'll see :)**

**To the guest who was confused about how Quinn and Brittany know each other. This was revealed in Chapter 10.**

**Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing - really keen for feedback about the direction this chapter takes so let me know what you're thinking.**

* * *

**Chapter 22: Unfolding**

Santana pushed past Quinn, dragging Brittany behind her and noticed the look of surprise on Rachel's face, the woman having seen the confrontation between the two officers.

The two walked over to the quieter corner of the bar where Mercedes and Sam were drinking and laughing with Sugar, and another girl who Santana had never met.

"Did you know Berry's here?" Santana questioned Mercedes, offering up a half smile to counteract the harsh tone in her voice.

"I saw her in the bathroom a few minutes ago. She's here with her girlfriend, Gwen or something." Mercedes frowned, looking at Santana who didn't know where to direct her frustrations. "Everything okay girl?"

"The girlfriend's name is Quinn and she works with me." Santana said flatly. "Look guys, we're going to head off, okay, have a good night, I'll see you tomorrow." With some protest from both Mercedes and Sugar, the women said their goodbyes and headed towards the exit.

Passing Blaine and Kurt, still dancing awkwardly together in the corner, Santana walked over and tapped the ex-cop on the shoulder. "You know Fabray was a dyke?" Santana quirked an eyebrow at the man and received a frown from Kurt.

Blaine answered slowly, clearly caught off guard by the question. "I – I always had my sus-picions, but she was never...out if that's what you're asking?" He eyed her curiously, but she didn't have the energy or head space to elaborate.

"Forget it, we're leaving, we'll just get a cab. See you in the morning." The Latina patted the man's shoulder and made to walk off, but he caught her arm and turned her back around.

"Give me a minute," he motioned his head subtly towards Kurt, "…and I'll drive you. You know I need to, I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't…having you here isn't really me doing my job so I _need_ to drive you home." He handed Santana his keys. "You go to the car and get in. We'll come up in a few minutes." He motioned to himself and Brittany and Santana placed a quick kiss to the blonde's lips before leaving the club.

* * *

When they arrived back at Brittany's, Santana walked straight to the dancer's bedroom and the blonde arrived a few moments later carrying two glasses of water.

Putting them on the nightstand she moved to where Santana was seated on the edge of the bed and sat down beside her, nudging her with her shoulder.

Santana groaned and flopped back against the bed, pulling Brittany down with her. The two lay facing each other on their sides, eyes exploring every tiny feature and being comfortable in their silence for the longest time.

Eventually Santana scrunched up her face and managed a half smile as she apologised for ruining their night.

"Are you kidding me San? You didn't ruin anything. You couldn't have known she'd be there and…when you think about it, it's actually kind of funny." Santana couldn't help but smile at the glint in Brittany's eye and the smirk gracing her lips.

"You. Need. To. Know," she playfully poked Brittany at each word, until the dancer was laying on her back, "…that there is nothing," she kissed her softly, "…at all funny," and again, "…about. You. Fucking. Quinn. Fabray."

Brittany shook her head, smirking again. "I didn't really…trust me, it was _all_ her. I was kind of just her little play thing." The blonde giggled and scooted herself up the bed, motioning for Santana to join her.

"Oh God Britt, I think that's worse. I need to bleach my brain or something." The Latina lay back against the pillows with her arm draped dramatically over her eyes and pouted. Her lips turned up at the corners and she shivered as she felt Brittany trail kisses from the inside of her wrists all the way up to her armpit.

"I could just make you forget."

Santana instinctively squeezed her thighs together at the sound of Brittany's lowered voice and she felt the blonde lift her arm from her face and put it around her own neck, bringing their lips together.

"I could kiss you _all_ night."

Santana smiled as warm lips met hers repeatedly and she felt Brittany's teeth graze her lower lip before kissing her more deeply. Brittany rolled off Santana and onto her back and made quick work of removing her own skirt, before rolling back over and straddling the officer's hips.

"There's no way I could have done this with that on." Santana felt the dancer grip the bottom of her dress and she lifted her hips allowing the blonde to drag it up her body. Sitting up she helped Brittany to remove it completely and she did the same, removing Brittany's top swiftly.

"Wow." She pulled the dancer closer to her and placed light kisses across her chest and down the cleft between her breasts. "I'll never get used to seeing this body. You're fucking amazing Britt."

With that, Brittany reached behind her own back, unclasping her bra and letting it fall down her arms before Santana dragged it away, dropping it to the floor. "And now?" the blonde asked shyly.

"_So_ much better." Santana lay back down, taking in Brittany's incredible form before reaching down and lifting her hips to remove her thong. Brittany moved and did the same before resuming her position, leaning over to kiss Santana deeply.

The feeling of the dancer's lips on hers caused the officer's eyes to close automatically. They squeezed shut even tighter as Brittany kissed her way down the Latina's neck, her head arching into the pillow to give the blonde better access.

As she blinked and begun to focus properly again, Santana allowed her hands to explore Brittany's remarkable body. She slid down the bed slightly, her face level with Brittany's chest and ran her fingers over the dancer's hardened nipples. Kissing across Brittany's chest, she flicked her tongue over a nipple before taking the other in her mouth and sucking lightly. She felt Brittany lower her centre down onto her and she immediately allowed a hand to travel down between the dancer's legs.

Collecting some of the dancer's wetness on her fingers, she moved up and looked the dancer in the eye before placing her fingers in her mouth and licking Brittany from them.

"So hot San." Brittany whispered.

"I want to taste you." Santana's voice was low and commanding and she noticed the dancer's skin flush, redness travelling from her neck to her cheeks.

"You just di-oh." Brittany's eyes closed impulsively as the thought reached her, Santana's fingers touching her again. The Latina smirked and raised her eyebrows in question. The blonde nodded in response, pressing her lips together as her brow furrowed and Santana moved herself down, before grabbing Brittany's thighs and urging her to move up higher on the bed. Brittany steadied herself against the headboard and looked back down, between her arms, at the Latina.

Santana ran her hands from Brittany's breasts, all the way down her body and gripped the dancer's thighs bringing them closer so she could tease kisses along each one. After a few short minutes of this, she felt Brittany reach a hand down, cupping her cheek and when she looked up at the dancer, she felt a throbbing between her own legs again at the pleading look on the blonde's face.

"Please Santana."

Smirking, Santana wrapped her hands around Brittany's thighs and brought the dancer down onto her mouth. As she ran her tongue along Brittany's centre, the two moaned in unison and Santana was encouraged by the slight rocking motion of the dancer against her tongue. Wrapping her lips around Brittany's swollen clit, Santana flicked her tongue lightly, circling it before moving down further.

"Fuck San."

Santana felt herself pooling again at the sound of Brittany's desire and flattened her tongue out, licking the length of the woman before entering her ever so slowly. Watching the woman writhe above her, she reached a hand up to press against Brittany's toned abs, steadying her as she moved her tongue slowly in and out.

Feeling the woman moving against her made the pulsating of her own centre increase, aching to be touched and she reached down with her left hand to touch herself behind the dancer's back.

Moaning at the contact, she was stopped abruptly by Brittany's hand which swiped hers away and replaced it with her own. She brought both hands to Brittany's hips holding the dancer in place as she arched back to enter Santana with two fingers.

The officer was forced to pause her own ministrations as she adjusted to the feeling of Brittany inside her, but a gentle thrust from Brittany's hips, timed perfectly with the fingers inside her, made her respond by flicking her tongue against the blonde's clit.

Feeling the dancer's thumb against her own, she moaned against her and felt Brittany shudder in response. As they moved together Santana looked up at the dancer, feeling pale fingers glide through her hair. When Brittany's eyes met hers, they held each other's gaze and it was all they needed to come undone panting and moaning together.

With small aftershocks still coursing through her body, she reached down and grabbed Brittany's wrist, moving her fingers out slowly. Sliding back up the bed she brought the dancer down on top of her and kissed her with everything she had left.

* * *

When Santana awoke on Friday morning she felt groggy from the remnants of alcohol in her system, and a definite lack of sleep, but also felt perfectly content with Brittany's arm draped across her middle. She turned towards the sleeping dancer, moving closer and ran her fingers across pale skin as she studied every freckle and every shade of blonde in her hair.

Santana felt an aching in her chest as a lump rose, at the same time, in her throat and she slowly moved out from under Brittany's embrace, trying desperately not to wake her, trying desperately to ignore the feeling inside her.

She grabbed Brittany's robe from the back of her door and picked up her bag.

"San?"

She looked over to find Brittany looking around her bed, slightly confused. Crossing the room she leant on the edge of the bed and placed light kisses to the woman's forehead.

"Go back to sleep babe, I'm just going to have a quick shower. Alone." She smiled before kissing the blonde again.

Brittany smiled sleepily in response and rolled back over, grabbing a handful of the covers and pulling them over her naked body.

* * *

While she showered, Santana tried to run through the lines of her favourite movie like a script in her mind. It was her go-to strategy when she needed to calm unwelcome thoughts her head.

She grew frustrated with herself, however, unable to get past the first few lines. As she lathered the shampoo in her hair she closed her eyes and tried to picture the opening scenes of the film.

'_This is a story about a man named Harold Crick and his wristwatch. Harold Crick was a man of infinite numbers, endless calculations, and remarkably few words. And his wristwatch said even less. Every weekday, for…' _how many years was it?

'…_Harold would brush each of his teeth…' _how many times?

After running through the same lines over and over she gave up. She rinsed out the conditioner and turned off the taps before reaching for the blue towel which she had slung over the door of the shower.

Having not turned the fan on, she stepped out into a room filled with steam and she rubbed a small patch of the mirror with her towel, enough to be able to see her own face as she leant against the ceramic bench top.

Exercise, work and sex had been the keys to Santana's happiness for the better part of three years. They had been the three things guaranteed to wear her out and distract her from too much thinking. As she stood staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, Santana Lopez shook her head amused that, at present, she had about as much as she could handle of all three and yet she found herself thinking more than she had in a long time. Concerns and sadness and memories, which had long been suppressed successfully through determination and distraction, were beginning to reappear for the officer.

Shaking her head again she dressed quickly and headed back down to Brittany's room, unacknowledged thoughts weighing thick in her mind.

* * *

Santana walked into the room, squeezing water from her hair with the towel, and was surprised to see the blonde was out of bed and had prepared breakfast for the both of them.

Sneaking up behind the dancer, who was fiddling with the iPod dock in the corner of her room, the officer laced her hands around her middle and smiled as the woman seemed shaken by the touch.

"Oh! San you scared me." Brittany turned and rested her arms on the officer's shoulders, running her fingers through wet hair before kissing the Latina unhurriedly. "I really could get used to this you know." She ruffled Santana's hair again before taking her hand and dragging her over to the bed where their breakfast was set up on a large tray. Sitting up against the headboard, she pulled the tray up between them as Santana sat down on the other side of the bed.

The officer took a moment to just watch the woman next to her, a warmth settling in her chest at how very simple everything seemed in the moment. Brittany picked up a piece of toast and took a bite as she turned to Santana, who still hadn't touched anything on the tray, their eyes meeting.

"What?" The dancer continued to chew after the muffled word left her lips and the warm feeling in the Latina's chest became heavy again, confusing her.

Santana shook her head, smiling at the adorable woman before her. "Nothing. This is nice. Thank you." She looked over Brittany once more as she reached for a bowl of fruit salad. The blonde was wearing lime sweatpants and a black and white polka dot t-shirt with a blue checked shirt over the top. "I seriously don't remember the last time I smiled as much as I do when I'm with you."

Brittany leant towards the officer and placed a quick kiss to her lips, toast crumbs tickling against her. "Ditto."

The two ate in silence for a few minutes, Santana keeping an eye on the clock, conscious she would need to leave for work soon if she was going to mess around with several cabs and extended routes.

"Did Sugar come home last night?"

"No, she text saying she went back to Kurt's. She was exhausted and he only lives around the corner from Click."

Santana nodded and took a sip of apple juice before moving the tray onto the nightstand and shifting to straddle Brittany's hips as she sat up on the bed.

"If Blaine's okay with letting you out of his sight for one evening, do you want to stay with me tonight? I'd really like you to meet Tina and she's in the middle of three days off and keen for a girl's night in." Santana bit her lower lip as she snuck her fingers under the dancer's t-shirt looking for bare skin.

Brittany twitched as the officer's smooth hands trailed up and down her sides and nodded, "Yeah, I'd like that."

Santana moved closer to the blonde, unable to break eye contact and took a deep breath to try and steady her heart rate which seemed to increase with each passing moment.

"Tell me what's on your mind San, you've been in here," Brittany tapped top of the Latina's head lightly, "… a lot this morning."

The officer inhaled deeply through her nose and let the breath out gradually, kissing the dancer before responding. "I just worry about you, that's all." She kissed her again and brushed some hair away from the blonde's eyes. "All the time when we're not together I just feel tense. My phone is, like, surgically glued to my hand in case you need to call me and I just feel like I can't relax unless I'm talking to you or looking at you."

Brittany looked at her with the softest smile she'd ever seen and she felt her heart thudding inside her chest. "I worry about you too San. The only difference is that for me that won't end with this case. I'll still have to worry about you even when this shit all blows over. _Always_."

Santana swallowed at the new lump which had formed in her throat at Brittany's use of the word and the gentle tone of her voice. "What do you mean?" The officer's head and heart were duelling inside her now and she felt as though she couldn't make sense of anything.

"I mean," Brittany paused, taking Santana's hands in her own and interlocking their fingers, "…your job is _so _full on. It's _so_ dangerous San and if it's not this case, then it'll be another one and the people you deal with every day, they're _not_ good people and I hate guns, I _really_ hate them," the dancer brought their entwined hands to her chest, looking down at them as she spoke quickly, "…I hate that you're surrounded by that every day and it scares me that it's part of who you are because… I've - I'm in love with you."

Brittany's eyes flickered up to meet Santana's and the officer sighed heavily against the intensity of the feeling threatening to spill over inside her. Her heart was pounding out of control and she felt she couldn't control her breathing which had become shallow.

The dancer released their hands, not once breaking eye contact with the Latina as she brought both hands to tanned cheeks, holding her still as though she knew how out of control the officer was feeling.

"I love you Santana."

The words hit her again and she felt herself pushing forward and crashing her lips into Brittany's, kissing her deeply, kissing past the hard rock which was sitting on her chest and past the fog, still hanging like bathroom steam, in the back of her mind. She kissed her until her lips felt numb and until she thought she couldn't breathe. Leaning her forehead against the blonde's she rubbed her hands up and down the dancer's arms.

Shifting herself off Brittany, she stood beside the bed and looked at the blonde who whose chest was rising and falling as quickly as her own, a small flush reaching into both cheeks.

"I'm sorry Britt, I have to go. I need to go to work." Santana didn't know where the words came from and paused by the bed, running her fingers through her hair before walking towards the door to pick up her bag.

"Santana," Brittany's voice was uncharacteristically weak and the officer felt the words run straight to her chest, "…please don't leave now."

She turned offering the blonde a weak smile, feeling as though every organ inside her body was shutting down. "I'll see you tonight babe."

* * *

Walking out of the room and down the hall, jaw clenched, Santana bit down hard on the insides of her cheeks to stop the wave of emotions which threatened to overcome her.

She made it to the corner of Brittany's street and into a cab before she felt the tears start to stream down her face.

Santana knew she wouldn't be able to move past this feeling until she'd visited Simone. It had been three years. Three years since the love of her life had left her broken and alone. Three years since she'd heard that voice whisper _I love you's_ to her through the night and three years since she'd said it back to someone. Anyone.

Simone had been her first true love, her greatest love and when Simone left she was unable to function, everything in her life put on hold.

Mercedes and Tina had picked her up off the floor sobbing, countless times, phone in hand wanting to hear the woman's voice but getting no response.

Santana spent weeks going to the woman's favourite hang outs, convinced that she might catch a glimpse of her and every single day, for the longest time, ended in tears.

Santana resented what Simone's abrupt exit had done to her. The outwardly confident, self-assured Latina had become fragile, a small egg, the slightest nudge causing her to break; everything inside simply gushing out.

The day Tina had found her, shivering and bloodied at the bottom of a freezing shower, had been a turning point for all of them.

* * *

Weeks after her girlfriend had left her; Santana tried to pull herself together and decided to pay Simone a visit. Returning home that evening, to the apartment she'd shared with Mercedes and Tina for two months, her two best friends could see that she was broken. Dismissing their concerns, Santana locked herself in her room and wept uncontrollably for hours ignoring the pleas from the girls outside her room.

Santana didn't sleep at all that night, her mind racing.

In the morning, after Mercedes had gone to work and Tina had left the apartment to run some errands, Santana dragged herself off the bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower. As soon as the hot water hit her skin, she couldn't control the tears which flowed freely, blurring her vision. Stupidly she decided to shave her legs and with unsteady hands she cut her skin badly, a large section of skin caught in the razor. In pain, and utter despair over the events of the past twelve hours, Santana slumped down against the tiled wall and cried until the water ran cold.

An hour later, Tina came home to find her best friend cowering in the corner of the small space, blood covering her paling skin and the white tiles. Santana remembered hearing Tina, on the phone to Mercedes, trying to speak through choking tears and telling her that Santana had tried to hurt herself.

Realizing that was how it looked, and realizing that was the level of concern her friends had for her, Santana knew she needed to make a change.

As Tina wrapped her in towels and sat her in front of the heater, tending to her wound and brushing and drying her hair, she made a plan.

The following morning she erased Simone's number from her phone. She collected the stash of photos and letters from under her pillow, boxed them up and put them in the far corner at the back of her cupboard. Included in that box was a USB onto which she'd copied all photos and video footage of the two of them from her computer before deleting it. She decided she could go through it at a later date. On this day she stopped visiting Simone's usual haunts. She separated herself from her old life, as much as possible, and began the process of moving on.

* * *

Santana felt as though Simone, and everything there that had been left unresolved, was a barrier preventing her from taking the final step in opening up to Brittany. She didn't understand why, but she felt she needed to explain herself to the woman who had been the biggest part of her life for so long. She needed closure but, at the same time, she was apprehensive about visiting her. Just finding photos of the two of them together could bring her to tears, even now.

Making a decision, which went against her entire work ethic and made her feel pathetic, she phoned Holly and told her she needed to take a couple of hours. Personal reasons she said. When Holly asked her if personal meant sex with a leggy blonde dancer, she assured her this was not the case and that personal involved her and her alone.

After exiting her third cab for the morning, Santana walked the half block back to her apartment and hopped into her own car which was parked on the street outside. Closing her eyes she breathed deeply. She was going to see Simone.

Putting her keys in the ignition, she started the car and began her journey. On the way she phoned Tina, a precautionary measure, needing someone to know where she was and also hoping it would also help to calm her nerves.

"San? Everything okay?" The woman sounded immediately concerned.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Santana knew Tina would hear doubt in her tone.

"But you never call me at work. Has something happened?"

"Not yet."

"What is that supposed to mean?" The concern in her friend's voice was now laced with frustration.

"T, I'm on my way to go and see her...I'm going to see Simone..." Santana heard Tina sigh before she'd even finished saying her old girlfriend's name.

"Sweetie, we talked about this. What's happened? Why now."

"I just need to talk to her." Santana swallowed against the onslaught of emotions; speaking becoming difficult due to the thickness in her throat.

"I don't think you should go there alone sweetie." Tina's voice was quiet and calming and Santana knew that, despite her friend's obvious disapproval, she'd been wise to call her.

"I need to T and I need to do this alone. I need to know that I can. But can you call me in an hour? I might need a rescue." _You might need to rescue me from myself_.

"I'm calling you in 45 minutes San and if anything happens before then, you call me and I'll come and get you okay?"

Santana nodded, "Thanks T". The tears in her voice a mixture of anxiety and relief.

"Always San."

"Always." Santana repeated quietly as she ended the call.

The officer smiled past the tears which were threatening to spill over once again. She shuddered to think what may have become of her had Mercedes and Tina not been in her life three years ago.

* * *

Arriving at her destination twenty minutes later, Santana wiped her sweaty palms against her jeans as she closed her car door.

As she looked up at the building in front of her she fought hard to keep so many conflicting emotions at bay. She wondered whether she should have bought something, feeling guilty for arriving empty handed.

Approaching the cement steps leading to the entrance, Santana felt each box in the back of her mind slowly opening and unpacking itself, leaving her feeling vulnerable and almost wishing she'd taken Tina up on her offer of joining her.

Rounding a vaguely familiar corner, Santana's breathing quickened and she slowed her pace to give herself time to prepare. As her eyes scanned the area gingerly she felt a pang in her chest as her eyes came to rest on the subject of her visit.

Taking the final steps to close the gap between them, Santana spoke quietly, unable to trust her voice, almost ashamed that it would waver.

"Hello Simone…it's been a long time."

* * *

**There you have it folks. Keen to hear your thoughts on this one.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you so so much for all the new follows and faves - some _intersting_ predictions in the reviews, can't hide the hints from everyone i guess :)**

**Was a little distracted by Quinntana this week...like the whole week, so it's a bit of a miracle that I got myself together to update this instead of my one shot (...maybe we can make it a _two-shot_ thing... :) Ah, anyway...that's right, umm..INERTIA.**

* * *

**Chapter: 23 Everything I love…**

The moment Santana saw Simone, she felt tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. Tracing the edges of the woman's face and angular jawline with her fingertips, she let the tears fall, no longer able to hold back.

"I'm sorry I haven't come by more. It's not easy, but I think about you, often I do." She was trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible, keep the conversation between them and not draw attention from onlookers, but the sadness in her voice made her volume difficult to maintain.

Looking into deep brown eyes, Santana felt her heart ache. This was why she couldn't tell Brittany everything she felt. This feeling, right here, was why she hadn't uttered those three words in almost three years. _Everything I love disappears_.

Scanning the woman in front of her, Santana took in all her features which were so familiar and yet so foreign. Simone's dark skin and hair contrasting with pale and blonde in her mind.

"I miss you. I really miss you Simone. I still get angry that you left, but I know it wasn't your fault. I know it was out of our control."

Santana broke down, sobbing uncontrollably, her breath coming in short bursts and the salt of her own tears sailing past her lips and dripping from her chin onto the grass below. The morning dew seeping into the knees of her jeans reminded her of where she was and, immediately, she pulled the hood of her jacket over her head.

Using the cuff of her sleeve, the Latina wiped at her eyes aggressively, hoping the pressure itself would quell the emotion inside her.

Looking again at Simone she let out a breathy laugh, the woman's wild, tight curly hair was taking up most of the picture. She remembered how different the woman looked with her hair out. Santana had always preferred it that way but for school, when they were younger, and for competitions, Simone either kept it braided or tied back.

"I've met someone Mo." Santana's voice was soft and tender and would have been unrecognisable to most who knew her. She hesitated, not sure what to say next. "I- I think you'd like her actually. She's a dancer and she's brought me back out of myself, a bit like you did. I didn't think I'd ever feel happy again, but... she makes me really happy."

Santana felt her voice wavering again. "I'm sorry baby, I'm so sorry, I feel guilty talking to you like this, but I needed you to know."

Santana stared at the photograph, deep brown eyes staring back at her own; unblinking. Her heart broke just as it had so many times before. "I loved you first, I always will, but I think," she hesitated now, "...I know I love her too and it scares me so much. I couldn't tell her…when she said it, I couldn't say it back. Everything hurt. Somehow everything felt so much bigger than me and I couldn't say it back. I can't lose her too."

Santana felt a light buzzing in the pocket of her jeans and felt a calm overtake her, knowing it was Tina.

Santana took a deep breath to steady herself before answering. "Hi T."

"You okay San? Do you need me to come out and get you?" Tina's tone was serious, yet gentle.

"I'm okay. I kind of lost it there for a bit, but I'll just say goodbye and then I'll go in to work." Santana ran a finger under each eye again collecting the remaining tears.

"Okay sweetie, but look, don't stay at work today if you're feeling overwhelmed. You're more than entitled to a mental health day, I can easily get someone here to give you a once over and sign off on it."

"Thanks T, but I think I'll be better at work to be honest. I need to figure out what I'm going to say to Brittany and how to apologise for the way I was this morning. I don't think I'd go to well at home on my own today." Santana was not accustomed to feeling vulnerable, but Tina made her feel safe even when she felt exposed.

"You do what you need to do sweetie, but Mercedes is only taping until noon and I can be wherever you need me to be." Santana could hear the emotion in her best friend's voice and it was enough to break her resolve again.

With warm tears overflowing, Santana felt overwhelmed for an entirely different reason now. She had so many people willing to look out for her and concerned for her wellbeing that she was reminded she owed it to all of them to look out for herself. To treat herself better and recognise the signs before everything became too much.

"I think I might phone Dr. Harrison again and…I need to go and see my parents." Santana sighed, feeling at once like she was giving in to everything she'd been so stubbornly trying to avoid for so long, and also feeling as though she was finally becoming whole again.

"I think both of those things sound like huge steps in the right direction San. I'll go, but text me when you get to work so I know you got there, okay?"

"Thanks T."

"Always San."

Santana smiled to herself as she ended the call and turned back around to look at Simone. The woman's picture on the headstone, encased in perspex, ensured she stayed twenty-one forever. While that thought burned through Santana like an open flame, she also took comfort in the fact that Simone was at her happiest and most beautiful the night the photo had been taken.

The officer traced her fingers over the engraved words which were there to tell strangers what she would know forever.

JAMES  
SIMONE LASHAYA  
1994-2015  
TREASURED DAUGHTER OF MORRIS AND REGINA  
FOREVER LOVED, FOREVER YOUNG

Santana placed a kiss to her fingers and reached forward, holding them against the lips on Simone's picture for a long moment. As a chill overtook her body, she forced herself to stand, brushing dirt and grass from her trousers.

The officer stood motionless, her brain unable to send a clear message to her legs to begin walking. Walking away from Simone, this time, felt more permanent. Walking away, this time, felt like the end of the biggest part of her life.

"Goodbye Mo... Always."

Turning, Santana's steps felt heavy, even though her shoulders felt light. Straightening her posture she walked slowly back towards the car park.

As she passed a brick wall housing the ashes of many others' lost and loved ones, she back tracked, her eyes scanning the shining silver name plates set at chest height in the wall.

ALMA MANUELA LOPEZ  
1936-2015  
Reunidos con el Señor

As she stood staring at the name of yet another woman who had been such a huge part of her life, Santana felt calm. She wouldn't cry any more today. Her Grandma would receive none of her tears.

"No más secretos de la abuela, no te ocultes más." Santana spoke with certainty as the pads of her fingers left a smudge against the silver. Sighing, the officer looked back at the name plate once more and whispered "Siempre."

* * *

Arriving at work, Santana changed in record time and shoved her civvies into her locker unceremoniously. As she bent down to tie the laces on her boots, she felt something land on her head and realised her jeans and hoody had fallen back out, bringing several other items with them. She refolded the clothes and stacked a yellow envelope, a staff newsletter and a lengthy amendment to the Use of Firearms guide back on the top shelf.

The officer finished tying her boots and pushed the metal locker door shut before turning around. She was shocked to see Quinn standing right in front of her, arms folded defensively and looking somewhat embarrassed.

She had no intentions of making this easy on the other woman. "Fabray." She used the surname as a substitute for a greeting and took some pleasure in the increased look of discomfort on the blonde officer.

"Santana, we really need to talk about last night." Quinn unfolded her arms and let them hang loosely by her sides and even though the Latina saw the gesture as an apology in itself, she wasn't going to give in this easily.

Santana was about to respond with something quickly dipped in sarcasm when Karofsky rounded the corner into the locker room.

"This lez hasn't been puttin' the moves on you has she Quinn? You know fraternisation in the workplace is frowned upon, right Lopez?" That self-satisfied smirk which spread unevenly across the man's face was something Santana had certainly not missed, as the oaf had laid low, over the past week.

"Shut it Karofsky. You've been warned already, another sheet in your file and you'll find yourself in front of Sylvester." Quinn's arms were folded again and, Santana noted, the blonde officer had moved a step forward and to the right so that she was now positioned partly in front of her, creating a barrier between her and Karofsky.

"Are you seriously defending her again Quinn. Is it your high moral standards or do you actually believe that dyke scum's worth protecting?" Karofsky had moved closer, his chin jutting out, challenging Quinn to disagree with him. Santana felt compelled to intervene, not comfortable with the woman fighting her battles yet again.

"Listen here Karof-", Santana was cut off by Quinn turning her body slightly towards her and raising a palm for her to stop.

"No, I got this one Santana. Karofsky, from now on you either refer to this officer," she motioned towards the Latina, "…as Santana or Senior Constable Lopez. If you _don't_, then you might as well just call me Fabray, because I won't be answering to Quinn anymore."

Karofsky looked genuinely confused, his face falling slightly before he puffed out his chest, almost comically, and a grunted a response.

"I'll call her Lopez, thanks very much. Surname like the rest of the guys, _Quinn_." He emphasised the last word as though he assumed he'd adequately made his point.

"I said it's Fabray to you now, asshole," Quinn stepped to the left and moved back making her level with Santana, "…the two of us," she motioned a hand between herself and the Latina, "…we play for the same team." Santana turned her head to look at the blonde officer, mouth agape, to find a proud smile on the woman's face.

Karofsky's expression mirrored Santana's, complete disbelief paling his complexion. Turning on his heel he stormed out of the locker room and the female officers stood in silence as his footsteps retreated up the hall.

Quinn let out a long shaky breath and Santana turned away from the woman, sitting down on the wooden bench which ran between the lockers on either side of the room.

"Why did you do that?" Santana asked, not knowing whether it was the exact question she needed answered in that moment.

Quinn joined her on the bench, sitting sideways, one leg tucked up in front of her as she slouched, leaning her arms against the wooden slats.

"Maybe I should have done it a long time ago." Quinn's voice wavered and she sighed deeply, running a hand nervously through her hair before continuing.

"You need to understand, Santana, I knew Karofsky was a massive homophobe from the moment I began with the SRS. Well at least, I thought he was." Santana had turned to face the blonde officer now and her brow furrowed at Quinn's words.

"Of course he is Quinn, come on, what do you mean _thought he was_?" Santana was aware of her tone, but she wasn't going to tolerate some alternative interpretation for that asshole's behaviour.

"Before you came to work here, a while before, there was this guy, an awesome officer name Blaine Ande-"

"Anderson, yeah I know him." Santana interrupted.

"How do you know Blaine?" It was Quinn's turn to look confused now.

"Umm," Santana paused. Abrams and Holly were the only ones who knew why Blaine was now involved in the case, but Quinn now knew she was dating Brittany so she felt there was little harm in letting the woman in on the secret, "…well, it's kind of a long story actually," Santana lowered her voice, "…the short version is, there have been some developments in Brittany's involvement in the Flanagan/Hernandez case and...essentially Blaine is her bodyguard."

Quinn's eyes widened and Santana knew she had rambled, instantly regretting revealing the information and really not wanting to talk about Brittany or divulge any further info about the threats and the case.

"O-kay then. So obviously Holly knows, she would've brought Blaine in, but does anyone else in Shift 1 know what's going on? Why weren't we told?" Quinn was now sitting up, her interest sufficiently aroused.

"Abrams knows all of it and Pepper knows enough to have helped us with the tech side of things when Artie's off shift."

Quinn nodded. "Okay, well has Blaine told you what happened between he and Karofsky?"

Santana shook her head before clarifying. "Holly explained about Sylvester and Karofsky's Dad being partners, or something, and when Karofsky harassed Blaine he got off with a warning while Blaine basically lost his job."

Quinn nodded again. "Yeah, that's the _unnofficial_ official version. The _official_ official version says nothing happened at all and that Blaine chose to leave of his own accord. Between you and me, Karofsky had a thing for Blaine and when it wasn't reciprocated, he got nasty."

"No way! No way in hell…" Santana trailed off. "Although," she spoke more quietly now, as though she was speaking to herself more than Quinn, "…I guess that would explain the looks in the hallway…"

"What?" Quinn was completely lost as Santana strung the words together.

"Blaine and Karofsky. I dunno. Maybe it makes sense. Blaine was here with Brittany the other day and Karofsky lost his _shit_. I mean, he _really_ lost it. There was another, obviously gay, guy here with Blaine and I guess Karofsky looked a little jealous." Santana raised her eyebrows at the other officer and shrugged her shoulders. "Wow."

"I think he's a little jealous of _you, _Santana. I think this whole time he's felt threatened because you're everything he can't bring himself to be." Santana looked at Quinn frowning, silently pressing her for a clearer explanation.

"You're out, you're confident, you're brilliant at your job and you're popular Santana. People _like_ you around here, they _respect_ you and in Karofsky's world he probably feels that he'd have none of that if he was able to be true to himself. His own homophobia is preventing him from seeing that nobody cares. Hell, it's probably preventing him from even really seeing that he _is_ gay."

Santana felt her defences soften at the woman's words, but still couldn't help herself from asking the obvious question. "So what about _you_ then. What's _your_ excuse Quinn?"

The blonde officer inhaled deeply and smiled at Santana. "This is the only place where I'm _not_ out. After what happened with Blaine, I just didn't want to risk getting on Karofsky's bad side. He's my superior. I'd worked so hard for this job and I wasn't about you let some asshole take that away from me because of who I sleep with." Santana smiled at the smirk which played on the woman's lips as she uttered those last words.

"So, Berry eh?" Santana jeered, rasing her eyebrows at the woman.

Quinn smiled, nodding her head and, Santana noticed, the other officer seemed to be, subconsciously, turning the gold band on her ring finger. "Yeah, you two have never really clicked have you?" Her smile didn't fade as she asked the question.

"Hey, I'm not going to disrespect your girlfriend, but she's kind of highly strung and we were kind of a bit competitive in high school, I mean," Santana tried to clarify, "…we didn't go to the same high school, I went to-"

"Ainsley Mills." Quinn interrupted.

"Yeah, has Rachel told you about the whole show choir rival thing?" Santana suddenly felt her cheeks flush, embarrassed to be talking with a near stranger about such an obscure part of her life.

Quinn shook her head and let out a small laugh. "No, I was in Vocal Adrenaline too Santana. Rachel and I _both_ went to Carmel…that's how we met." The blonde officer looked a little coy at her own admission.

"Are you serious? So you and Berry…did you have the hots for her in high school or something?" Santana probed, intrigued by the pairing and amused to be able to tell Brittany that yet another one of her hook ups was in a show choir. _Brittany…_

Quinn cringed as her own skin reddened now. "Umm, Rachel and I started _dating_ in High School. She was a Junior and I was a Senior. We've kind of been together ever since." The other officer was now playing nervously with her hands in her lap, periodically pulling her ring off her finger and turning it before replacing it.

"So…you and Brittany then…?" Santana was wary about broaching the question, but the two still hadn't discussed the events of the night before.

"We were on a break. She was at college and I was working and spending nights taking extra courses at the Academy. Our lives just stopped running parallel. We were apart for about three months and in that time we both hooked up with a couple of people. I guess one of them was Brittany." Quinn covered her face with both hands, shaking her head. "I still can't believe that was her last night and that the two of you are together."

"Seriously Quinn, how did you not know it was her all this time. Her picture's been plastered over Artie's boards." Santana made dramatic arm gestures to emphasise her point.

"Well, for starters, she said her name was Sugar and, also, she had a haircut like Finn Hudson and it was bright purple. She looked like Pink's much taller younger sister. She was the _opposite_ of Rachel in _every_ way and that's exactly what I needed."

Santana nodded at the woman's admission and glanced down at her watch.

"Shit, I told Holly I'd be here by 9am and it's already 10 after." The two moved to stand up and Santana was at the door to the locker room ahead of Quinn. Turning, she looked the other officer in the eye. "Thank you. For before with Karofsky and…all the other times. You _have_ been there virtually every time. I get it now. So, thank you."

She offered Quinn her most genuine smile and turned back towards the door before heading up the hall.

* * *

When Santana went to Holly's office to announce her arrival and apologise for not elaborating when she'd called in late, Holly waved it off and told her to sit down.

She informed her that they were actually having a bad day all around as Will was out sick again and she'd had to send Hudson out to chaperone Sugar and Brittany to the studio.

"Where the hell is Blaine? He was there this morning when I left." Santana immediately gritted her teeth, not having told Holly she had been spending so much time at the Jackson/Pierce/Motta residence.

"Well, well. If you're other rendezvous hadn't been so pressing, we might have been hauling you out of there too." Holly clicked her tongue in mock disappointment before continuing.

"Blaine phoned about 45 minutes ago to say he'd been informed that his father had been rushed to hospital. He insisted on staying at the house until one of our guys arrived, but I told him to get himself in to see the old man ASAP."

"So Hudson knows about Brittany's situation now?" Santana questioned, feeling a knot form in her stomach at the thought of her girlfriend.

"Don't worry Santana, the kid's thick as two short planks. He's here because he runs fast and he's the size of two of you. Pretty sure a bullet would ricochet straight off _that_ chest…" Holly slipped briefly into one of her dream worlds, "…anyway, I just told him Blaine had been on her as a precaution, nothing about you. He's just going to drive the girls to work and then I've got some regs on the studio, back and front, for the whole day."

As Holly's phone rang, Santana motioned towards the door, silently asking for permission to leave and the Inspector waved her off with a smile.

The Latina headed to her desk and started up her computer to check for any meeting notes she'd missed from the morning's briefing. As she waited for the passcode screen to appear, she stared around the room, her mind wandering back to over three hours ago to when Brittany opened herself up and said those three words to her.

Willing herself not to get emotional at work, the typed her passcode into the computer and tried to push all thoughts of Simone and Brittany to the very back of her mind.

* * *

A few minutes later Santana had a call from Artie and she headed down to his lair to see what developments he may have for her.

As she reached the doorway, Santana felt someone grab her arm and she twisted around to see Holly, holding her in a vice like grip, eyes wide.

"Santana." The older woman breathed out her name quickly and then turned to look into the control room. "Karofsky out! Out now!" Her voice had taken on a tone Santana had never heard and, with fingernails digging into her bicep, Santana was immediately filled with fear.

As Karofsky almost sprinted to get out of the room, Holly slammed the door behind him and guided Santana to a chair directly beside Artie.

The Latina took a deep breath and rubbed her arm as Holly moved to sit down in front of her. Looking nervously at Artie, she saw the Intelligence Officer simply shrug his shoulders, concern also evident on his face.

"Santana," the woman's face softened, but her tone of voice belied the composure there, "…that phone call, when you left my office. I was hoping it would be Martinez with information on the Eva exchange from yesterday. We've heard no negative rumblings so I've been hopeful, but it wasn't him."

Holly paused and Santana felt bile rising in the back of her throat as her worst fears began to swim inside her mind.

"Santana, it was Blaine. His father is fine and he's on his way here now to officially report for duty. It was a hoax. He arrived at the hospital, couldn't find out anything and assumed the worst. Someone set him up. His father was at home eating toast and drinking his morning cof-"

"Holly, get to the fucking point!" Santana yelled, losing patience with her boss.

Holly flinched at her volume, but Santana was further unnerved when the woman leant in closer to her. "Santana my next call was from Hudson. When he arrived at the house to pick up the girls, Sugar Motta was there alone. She told him another car had already been by to pick up Brittany and that the person had told her _I'd_ said that under the circumstances it was better that they travel separately."

Santana bit her down on the insides of her cheeks, fearing she might explode at any minute. Holly shook her head.

"Hudson assumed that it was legit and drove Miss Motta to the studio. When they arrived Brittany wasn't there and a note was pinned to the door saying 'Strike three'."

Hearing Holly's words, Santana stood up and, feeling unsteady on her feet, gripped onto Artie's shoulder for support. She needed to get back to her locker. As she moved towards the door, her face virtually expressionless, she heard Holly state the obvious.

"Santana we don't know where she is. Brittany's missing."

* * *

Running down the corridor, she turned, gripping onto the door frame of the locker room as she swung into the room. She fumbled trying to get the metal door open. Pulling down the contents of the top shelf, she ripped open the yellow envelope she'd seen, and dismissed, upon her arrival.

Inside, there was a single photo and a small note was paper clipped to the top right hand corner.

The picture was of her as she left Brittany's house just after 6am. Her hand was still on the door knob as she hesitated, wondering whether or not to go back inside. Her shoulders were slumped in the picture and, as Santana's eyes scanned over to the words on the note paper, she hung her head and pounded her fist against the metal locker, the double meaning causing her to lose control.

She continued to pound the locker as the photograph and note floated to the floor, writing side up.

The two words on the ripped note paper echoing the one found at the studio and breaking Santana in two.

'STRIKE THREE!'

* * *

**Please excuse the use of Google Translate for the Spanish at the cemetery. Hope it's accurate.**

**Please review, would love to hear what you think!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Posting this one in a bit of a rush, so am hoping I've located all the errors. Life is very busy for me right now, so updates won't be as frequent. Sorry folks. Thanks for the continued support!**

* * *

**Chapter 24: Control**

Santana closed the door gently behind her as she left, but the sound of the tongue clicking into the groove still sent an unpleasant jolt through Brittany.

Her clenched fist tightened on her blue and white quilt as she sat and stared at the closed door, unable to move. She wanted to follow Santana. She wanted to put her arms around her and tell her it was okay. Her chest was still heaving from the syllables she had spoken, and from Santana's wordless reaction, when she heard the front door close as well.

Brittany moved slowly from her position on the bed and walked over to her open window. Pressing her face flush against the glass allowed her to see the front steps and a moment later she saw Santana, head bowed and shoulders slumped, walking down the front path. As she reached the sidewalk, she turned left, walking out of Brittany's sight once more.

It took every ounce of willpower she had not to run out of the house and down the street after her. Santana had told her from the outset that expressing feelings had always been difficult and that, up until they'd met, she'd tried to avoid them almost entirely.

Brittany had never questioned this, never asked why and had never pushed her to explain whether it had always been this way. She had been content to get to know the Santana who was attempting to open up; the Santana who was trying. Staring out her bedroom window, however, Brittany wished she'd asked a few questions before now.

When the final song in her playlist ended, there was nothing to distract her from the overwhelming silence of her space. Feeling her emotions pressuring their way to the surface she walked out of her room and down the hall to Becky's without a second thought.

As she pushed open the door, a stream of light from the hallway landed on Becky as she lay facing the doorway. Groaning audibly and rubbing her eyes, Becky reached for her glasses on the nightstand and blinked several times before focussing on Brittany.

"What the hell? What time do you call this?" Becky's gravelly morning voice was enough to make the heaviness in Brittany's chest increase and she felt tears stinging at the backs of her eyes.

"I just need a hug." The words spilt from her mouth in a rush, her voice wavering. When Becky pulled back her covers and walked over to embrace her, the weight of her morning overtook her. Feeling her chin quiver, as it rested on top of Becky's head, hands tightened around her waist and warm tears trailed down her cheeks, coming to rest in blonde hair.

"Is this something you can talk about Britt?" Becky's voice had softened significantly and she shook her head in response.

"Not really," her voice, which was a higher pitch than usual, wavered again on the words, "…I just need this." Pulling Becky closer to her, Brittany let go and trusted her best friend to hold her upright as heavy sobs shook her slight frame.

* * *

Having been called into work early, Kurt had dropped Sugar back home and Blaine made him a strong coffee, putting it in a travel mug, to help nurse the huge headache which he complained was like a terrible orchestra playing endlessly inside his brain.

After Kurt left, Blaine, Becky and Sugar moved around Brittany silently, each one taking care of her in their own way. Nobody asked her to explain her unusually solemn mood. Nobody expected anything of her and she was grateful for that.

While they ate and drank and readied themselves for the day ahead, the only sounds were that of the coffee maker and bowls and spoons scraping against each other and the bench.

Their uncertain reverie was broken when Blaine's phone blasted a Katy Perry song from the other side of the kitchen. The moment he answered, Brittany noticed a change in the man's posture. As the colour drained from his face she moved from her position on the stool and walked around the bench to stand next to him.

Her thoughts went instantly to Santana and she felt her barely digested breakfast threatening to return as she waited for him to speak.

"It's my Dad," he whispered, "...he's in the hospital." His face contorted with fear and he ran his hand through his unstyled hair looking frantically around the room.

The relief Brittany felt, at not hearing her girlfriend's name, was quickly squashed by concern for the man who she had become close to.

"You need to go to him. Go now." She took the plate of half eaten toast from his hand and ushered him towards the hallway.

"I need to ring Holly. I can't leave until someone else comes here. You need someone to take you to work." Blaine rambled as he continued to look left and right and Brittany was concerned by the panic in his voice.

"Ring Holly and go. Don't worry about us, she'll get us a new ride. This is your family Blaine. Your Dad. You have to be there." Her voice was calming and Blaine took a deep breath as he looked at her and nodded before walking off down the hall.

* * *

Not fifteen minutes after Blaine left, there was a knock at the door.

"Geez, that Holly doesn't mess around." Brittany heard Becky mumble as she passed the lounge room on her way to the front door.

Turning the key and sliding the latch across, Brittany opened the door and was met by a young SRS officer with floppy brown hair reminiscent of Hugh Grant's character in _Notting Hill_.

"Hello, Miss Pierce?" The officer was softly spoken and held out his hand to Brittany. "My name is Senior Constable St. James. Jesse. Santana may have mentioned me?"

She shook her head as she shook his hand. "Sorry, she may have, there's a lot of you SRS folk to remember."

He looked a lot younger than Santana, and Brittany didn't really like his slightly smarmy manner, but she needed to get to work and was grateful for the ride.

"Come in Jesse, I'll just hurry Sugar along, she's taking ages." Brittany turned to walk back up the hallway, but the young officer caught her arm. Frowning, she turned to him, her eyes questioning.

"I'm sorry Miss Pierce, didn't Holly mention…she'd prefer the two of you travel separately today, just as a precaution. Another officer will be here to take Miss Motta shortly. She's concerned that you and Santana may have been seen last night and doesn't want to take any risks after last time, you know?" He shrugged his shoulders and smiled the smile which was already grating on her nerves. Nodding she turned back into the house and called out to Becky in the next room.

"Shorty they're sending two cars. Tell Sugar her ride will be here in a minute and I'll see her at work."

"Okay, seeya." Becky called loudly and Brittany picked up her bag and closed the door behind her.

* * *

The young officer had stopped at the gas station after they left the house and had then insisted on doubling back and taking an exceeding long route to the studio.

With thoughts of her morning running through her head, Brittany considered phoning Santana but, for the first time ever, she realised she didn't have any idea of what she would say to her. Instead, she played with her phone absentmindedly in the back seat of the vehicle as Jesse hummed along to a song which was playing softly on the radio.

Unlocking her phone, she scrolled through her apps and opened _Angry Birds_. Looking up from her phone, she realised they were at least three blocks past the street SpinFlex was on.

"Excuse me, Jesse, but we went past. The studio was back that way." The dancer pointed out the back window. "Sorry I should have been paying attention."

"No worries Miss Pierce." He made eye contact with her in his rear-view mirror and the look in his eye made her skin crawl.

She went back to playing with her phone, hearing the man put on the indicator and turn the car to the right. Moments later she looked back up and felt slightly anxious at the realisation that they were even further from the studio than before.

"What's going on? Why aren't you taking me to work?" Brittany was aware of the tone she had just taken with the officer, but she suddenly had a very bad feeling about the drive. Looking at her watch, she noted it was already getting close to 9:30am and she was conscious that she wasn't fully prepared for her first class which was due to start in half an hour.

"Sorry Miss Pierce, I didn't want to interrupt you, you seemed busy. I just received a message from the SRS saying there has been some more information in the Hernandez case and Inspector Holiday needs you to meet with her at a safe house about ten minutes away."

Sharing a glance again, Brittany felt herself glaring at the officer. Feeling her pulse quicken, she thought back to all the officers Santana had mentioned to her. She knew Santana's SRV included Will and Lauren, who she'd met the other day and Mike who she'd met with Santana in the early days of the investigation. She knew about Karofsky and Quinn and she knew there were two other offices in that SRV whose names she couldn't recall. _Could one of them be Jesse? _He was dressed in the full SRS uniform which she'd seen Santana and the others wear so many times before. On any other day she wouldn't have doubted him, but today she was on edge and nothing had been adding up for her. Nothing at all.

Thinking over the events of her morning, Brittany went over each step in her mind. Sure this guy could be telling the truth, but what if this was some kind of set up. She had been certain that Santana hadn't told Holly they were going out to _Click_, but maybe she'd been wrong. Pulling her bag closer to her on her lap she fished around in it surreptitiously for her old phone and began distracting the man with conversation while she opened it and turned the volume right down before searching for the direct number for the SRS warehouse in her contacts.

"Did Inspector Holliday give you any ideas about what the new information could be?" She ignored the man's long winded response as she selected SRS and called the number. Placing the phone down by her side, nearest the car door she continued playing with her iPhone again.

"…so I'm not 100% sure," he said vaguely, "…but the Inspector wants to speak with you personally so I imagine it has something to do with the daughter."

"The daughter?"

"Yes. Eva Hernandez. You two knew each other, didn't you?"

Alarm bells went off instantly in Brittany's mind. _How would this man know about her and Sofia? How could he even know that she'd been made aware of the connection between Sofia and Eva_? She knew that Blaine, Artie, Holly and Santana were the only ones aware of _all_ the information relevant to her. Glancing down to her right she noticed the call to the SRS had connected. She needed to think quickly.

She needed to say something that would immediately arouse the suspicions of anyone listening in at the SRS and she had to do so without it seeming out of context to the 'officer' driving the car.

"No. I've never met Eva Hernandez actually. I've heard the name from speaking with Inspector Holliday and Santana, but that's it really. She's the missing one isn't she? What time is Holly expecting us?"

If Artie, Holly or Santana were listening to the call, surely Artie would be trying to trace it by now.

"We're about 5 minutes away Miss Pierce." She noticed a change in the man's voice. Suddenly he sounded less sure of himself. _Did he realise he stuffed up when he mentioned Eva?_

"Okay, well I might just give Sugar a quick call and let her know I'll be late." Brittany kept her voice casual, even though her heart was pounding in her chest. "She might need to cancel some of my morning classes. What time do you think I'll be able to be back there?"

The man shrugged his shoulders. "Not entirely sure, sorry."

Brittany hit the call button and raised the iPhone to her ear, her other hand still clutching the old phone by her side. She watched for the man's eyes to meet hers in the rear view mirror. Surely if her concerns were warranted, this man would not want her to make any calls.

"Hi Sugar, it's me. Yeah I'm going to be late. Yeah, I know. Hey look, can you call and cancel all of my classes until lunch time? I know, I know, but Inspector Holliday needs me for something to do with the case. Hey listen can you also call Shay for me and let her know about Blaine's Dad and just tell her that I won't be in at work for a while."

Sugar questioned the name Brittany had given her and Brittany hoped that Santana was also listening, by now, on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, Shay. You know the one that I met the night I went out dancing with you and Kurt. She came into work to see me a few days later and I freaked out. You know the one."

Sugar gasped as she realised Brittany was talking about Santana. "Britt, why can't you say her real name. Is something going on. You're with someone aren't you?"

Brittany could hear the panic in her friend's voice and in some small way it was a relief because it meant Sugar would likely contact Santana the minute she got off the phone. "Yep, you got it one sweetie. Okay I have to go now," Brittany noticed the man was starting to slow as he pulled up to the curb outside a two storey red brick building in an industrial part of town, "…yeah we've just pulled up."

"Describe it to me Britt, tell me where you are." Sugar rushed the words anxiously.

"Umm…", Brittany chanced a glance at the man again as he turned down a laneway next to the building, "…remember in year five when they took us to that dairy and we just looked around and thought it was all so boring, not a lot of colour and everything needed a good clean and a paint?"

"So you're at a factory?"

"Yeah that's the general idea. Just ring Shay and make sure Blaine's okay please. I'll see you this afternoon, okay?"

"Okay sweetie, keep your phone nearby, ring me again when you get a chance okay. I love you."

"Love you too sweetie. See you later."

Brittany hung up the phone reluctantly as the man turned off the ignition. In her peripheral vision she could see that the call on her phone had gone on for almost seven minutes. Surely that was enough time for a trace.

As the 'officer' opened the driver's door and began walking around to her side of the car, Brittany slid her old phone into the pocket of her jeans. She immediately felt sick and swallowed deeply trying to make the feeling pass.

Jesse opened her door and motioned for her to step out. Looking around her, she had no idea where she was. They couldn't have been fair out of the city, but from the back of the run down building, Brittany was unable to recognise anything which could give her an idea of where they were.

She had spent the past ten minutes focussing on Jesse's reflection and on the phones she held in each hand. She walked behind him for a moment and swung her bag around on her shoulder to slip her iPhone inside. As she did so, she felt her bag being pulled away from her arm.

"You won't be needing this." Jesse threw the bag into a trash can and Brittany looked at him dumbfounded for a moment before moving towards the grime covered metal.

With only a step separating her and her bag, Jesse grabbed her forcefully by the arms and twisted her around before pushing her onto the hood of a second car which was parked in front of theirs.

Brittany's chin hit the paintwork with a thud which sent pain throbbing instantly throughout her jaw as her blood began to pump loudly in her ears. Holding her arms above her head, Jesse placed his entire body weight against her and she felt his hot breath surge across her cheek.

"I _said_ you wouldn't be needing that." His voice had grown suddenly cold and Brittany flinched as saliva hit her ear.

Gripping both of her hands with one of his, Brittany felt his other hand pressing invasively down the side of her body and, instinctively, she tried to move her own hand to stop him from touching her further. Freeing one hand from his grasp, she brought it down quickly and hoped that the force of her elbow hitting him might shift his weight off her long enough to enable her to move.

As her elbow connected hard with his side she heard him yelp before he brought his own hand to hers and forced it down onto the hood with a hard slap. The skin of her palm stung and she felt as though her shoulder had been ripped from its socket as he forced it back up above her head once again.

"Don't fucking move, bitch."

Brittany felt herself shaking under his weight and began to panic, gasping for breath. Digging his finger nails deeply into her hands as he crushed them inside his fist, he brought his other hand and threaded something around both of her wrists before pulling it tight. She felt it digging into her skin and the force of his hand holing hers away from her body casued the thin skin around her wrists to burn. Moving his other hand quickly to her waist, he toyed with the band of her jeans.

She closed her eyes tightly, dreading his next move as he reached long clumsy fingers into her pocket and pulled out her phone before flipping her over so that she was facing him. He pushed the plastic wrist restraints higher, sending pain to her shoulder blades and her armpits.

"This has just become a very bad fucking day. You better start to fucking cooperate."

His breathe overtook her like a heavy fog and she felt light headed, with his forearm resting heavily against her neck. Holding her own phone directly in front of her, his elbow dug into her chest as he wiggled the phone in his hand before throwing it against the brick wall with such force that Brittany heard in shatter.

Whimpering in absolute despair now, Brittany felt hot tears stream down the sides of her face, coming to rest uncomfortably in her ears.

"Okay," she gasped throatily, "…I'll do anything.

* * *

**Would love to hear your thoughts on this one. Not a nice chapter to write and, unfortunately, this is not the last of it.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Thanks for being patient on this one folks. Has taken me a little while to find my momentum again. Thanks to all new followers and I appreciate the continued support from those who have been following for some time.**

* * *

**Chapter 25: The Edge**

**Friday 9:26 am**

Santana slammed her fist against the metal one last time. Splitting open the thin skin of her knuckles, she was unable to control the onslaught of tears as the blood flowed between her fingers and into the palm of her left hand. Using the other to swipe angrily at her blurry eyes, she turned and made to run out of the locker room. Nearly knocking a uniform clad Blaine over in the process, she bolted straight past him and headed to the second floor balcony, needing air.

Pushing the door open with her shoulder, she walked to the middle of the balcony and breathed in deeply before doubling over, dry retching on all of the emotions of the past four hours.

"Santana." Blaine's voice came gently from the doorway and she turned to face him, barely able to stand for the convulsing pains in her stomach.

Her arms hung limply by her sides as she stared at him, utterly distraught and void of even enough energy to speak.

"Santana." He repeated again, even more softly as he approached her cautiously. Standing inches away from her, she could tell that the man had experienced a distressing morning himself. She wanted to hit him for leaving Brittany. She wanted to scream at him for not being there. She needed someone to blame but, as she looked into his eyes, she realised he could not be her target. Not today.

"I-I don't…I…" Her mouth was completely dry as she tried to form a sentence and she felt her stomach convulse again, Blaine grabbing her by the shoulders as she felt herself slumping to the ground. Kneeling on the freezing deck, crisp air whipping up from the alley beneath them, she found fleeting comfort in the grip Blaine had on her arms. He was steadying her, literally and figuratively, and she appreciated his wordless support as he squatted in front of her, staring at the ground.

He let her cry out the remainder of her tears and she breathed out a bitter laugh at the thought that she was way over her emotion quota for so early in the morning.

"This is my fault." Her throat was dry and her breathy voiced rasped the words in a tone even she didn't recognise as her own.

"I knew the risks. I knew that seeing her was _putting_ her at risk and I did it anyway." She shook her head and as Blaine raised his eyes to lock with hers, she had to turn away.

"Santana, I let this happen. I let last night happen. I feel responsible for this too, but this is not something we could have predicted. This was obviously planned. I mean, I doubt it had anything to do with last night really. That photo on the floor in the locker room is them trying to throw us off. They couldn't have planned this morning's events in an hour. This must have been in the planning stages for days. You are just a bonus for them. You're just someone else for them to fuck with."

She listened to him, still unable to fully comprehend the events of the past twelve hours, let alone entertain the notion that the people behind this were smarter or even more sinister than they initially seemed.

"Is this retaliation for Eva because I fucked that up too Blaine. I tracked her down, spoke to her and then she went missing." She raised her voice in anger. "Maybe I'm the problem here! Maybe I'm the one they're after!" Her brain worked overtime on every detail of the past few weeks. "If the Irish have Eva, then maybe Ernie's crew have Britt. Retaliation, just like the murders."

Blaine shook his head. "We established that it wasn't retaliation. Either way Santana, we need to focus right now. You and I need to sit down and map out the events of last night and this morning. Maybe there's something about Click that doesn't add up…"

"So many things." Santana interrupted vaguely.

"Well if you're up to it, we have a job to do and I get to do it without sneaking about now which makes me…"

"Blaine! Santana!"

They were interrupted by a frazzled looking Finn who ran out onto the balcony and leant down, palms resting heavily on his knees as he panted short breaths between his words.

"We need you inside now! It's Brittany. She called Artie."

* * *

**Friday 9:33 am**

Santana felt bile rising in the back of her throat again as she slowed herself, gripping the doorframe to Artie's lair before walking into the room.

Holly and Quinn were either side of Artie as he sat in his chair furiously typing on his keyboard; a man's voice reverberating off the equipment in the small control room.

"_Not entirely sure, sorry."_ The voice came through the speaker. It was a voice Santana didn't recognise and a voice she instantly loathed. She breathed through the nausea which was threatening to overwhelm her as she waited, hearing only the muffled sounds of someone moving near the phone on the other end of the line. Santana frowned in concentration, trying to decipher any of the sounds she was hearing and as she looked at Blaine and her colleagues she realised they were doing the same. It definitely sounded as though Brittany was in a vehicle of some kind.

Santana's concentration was broken as an achingly familiar voice filled the room suddenly, _"Hi Sugar, it's me. Yeah I'm going to be late. Yeah, I know. Hey look…" _

Santana's mind began to swim and she wondered whether Brittany was aware of what kind of danger she was in. Santana clenched both fists, wincing at the almost forgotten pain of her bloodied knuckles, and pressed her clean hand to her mouth to restrict the volume of her ragged breaths, not wanting it to interfere with the most important sound in the room.

"… _call Shay for me and let her know about Blaine's Dad and just tell her that I won't be in at work for a while." _

Santana's heart skipped a beat and she gasped audibly at the realisation that Brittany was thinking about her and that, for the first time, she was using the pseudonym out of fear.

"… _met the night I went out dancing with you and Kurt. She came into work to see me a few days later and I freaked out. You know the one."_

This was for her as much as Sugar. Santana felt a rush of heat, followed by a cold chill running up her spine. She could tell by the tone of Brittany's voice that she knew she'd be listening right now. This was Brittany's way of saying she was thinking about her and, she hoped, it was Brittany's way of saying they were okay despite their morning.

She needed to find her. She needed to find her straight away and tell her what she was too afraid to say, to her face, as the sun was beginning to rise. Santana swallowed deeply trying to suppress the huge lump which was increasing in size at the base of her throat.

"_Yep, you got it one sweetie. Okay I have to go now,"_ Brittany paused as it became clear the vehicle she was in was slowing, the noise of tires decelerating on an uneven surface now obvious.

"…_yeah we've just pulled up."_

"_Umm…",_ Brittany paused again, "…remember in year five when they took us to that dairy and we just looked around and thought it was all so boring, not a lot of colour and everything needed a good clean and a paint?"

Santana frowned, unsure what Brittany was getting at.

"She's describing the area." Blaine spoke quietly beside her and she felt as though he'd read her mind. "It's not much to go on, but drab and run down is better than nothing."

"_Yeah that's the general idea. Just ring Shay and make sure Blaine's okay please. I'll see you this afternoon, okay?" _Santana managed a slight smile, despite the persistent pain inside her chest, as Brittany made reference to her again.

"_Love you too sweetie. See you later."_

* * *

**Friday 9:40 am**

Barely one minute later Santana's phone rang and she fished it from her pocket, heart racing, as Sugar's name flashed on her screen.

Santana drew in a breath as she pressed the green button and raised the phone to her ear.

"Hi Sugar." Santana lowered her voice, turning away from her colleagues as she tried to steady her tone.

"Oh, Santana. Have you spoken to Finn? Everything's fucked up, Brittany just called me, someone has her, I don't know where she is, I-she asked me to call-" Sugar's rambling was interrupted by Santana's suddenly calm voice.

"I heard the call Sugar. Britt must have had both phones with her. While she was calling you, she had us on the other line. Artie is tracing the call now and trying to get a position." Santana exhaled slowly, waiting for the other woman to respond.

There was a moment of silence before Santana heard Sugar sigh on the other end of the line and this was followed by the sound of the woman sobbing deeply.

"Santana…I-I'm…"

"Hey, hey sweetie…" Santana's reassuring tone belied the harrowing swell of emotions inside her, "…we have the best people in the state working on this. Artie's a genius. So is Britt. She knew to call, kept us on the line for long enough to get a trace. She's going to be fine."

Santana felt her voice waver on her last four words and brought her hand to her mouth once again as she felt her chin begin to tremble. Biting down on the inside of her cheeks she made every effort to steady hear breathing, aware that Artie, Holly, Finn, Blaine and Quinn were all staring holes in her as she spoke.

"I just can't believe this has happened." Santana could hear the other woman doing her absolute best to hold it together and prevent her sobs from overtaking her again.

"Sugar, call the clients. Close the studio today. Go home sweetie and speak with Becky. She needs to know and she's going to need you and Puck to be there for her today." Sugar agreed with her and Santana listened as she talked to herself, listing the names of who she would need to call.

"Santana, I'll need to contact Katie too. Brittany's Aunt. What the hell do I say to her?"

Santana thought for a moment, her mind blank and in state of limbo between suppressing her own fears and trying to be strong for the sake of everyone around her.

"Tell her the truth, sweetie. Tell her that we're doing everything and give her my number and tell her to call me with any questions. Tell her we're going to find Brittany and we're going to end _all_ this shit in the process. This fucking game they're playing ends right now."

* * *

**Friday 10:30 am**

Artie triangulated the position of Brittany's call and the location was an industrial area about 25 minutes out of the city. While Santana and the others readied themselves to head out to the location, Artie was also searching traffic camera footage from the general vicinity of Brittany's house, all the way out to the location of the call. If they were able to determine the make and model of the vehicle Brittany was in, Holly would issue and immediate alert to all regs to keep a look out.

The Inspector hadn't wanted Santana to go out, but she stubbornly insisted, adamant that she would be fine. Lauren, Blaine, Mike, Quinn and Santana drove to the location immediately after checking their weaponry in the back of the SRV.

Santana's Kevlar vest weighed even more heavily on her shoulders as they pulled up alongside the building which most accurately fit the location Brittany seemed to be describing on the phone, and the general area Artie was able to pinpoint the call to.

Exiting the SRV, Quinn opened the back of the vehicle and handed everyone their weaponry, Santana preferring to stick with her Glock which was secured in the holster on her thigh. Lauren was in charge of surveillance equipment, should they need eyes inside the building and each crew member tested their CommSy, checking they had the all clear from Artie.

As soon as they began making their way down the alley adjacent to the dilapidated building, Santana noticed tyre marks in the loose gravel. Upon first glance, it appeared that a car had sped down the alleyway and come to an abrupt stop. As she walked, second in line behind Mike and treading carefully, she realised the markings indicated the opposite.

A door to their right was locked and bolted and they decided to continue further down the alleyway to check for another door while Quinn and Blaine went around the other side of the building. Lauren was on the lookout for a window to attach a portable to, which would enable them to establish the layout of the inside of the building.

Nearing the end of the tyre marks, Santana could now tell that the vehicle in question had reversed hurriedly, spinning it's tyres and kicking up a significant amount of gravel before finding traction and heading back to the street. Mike immediately measured the width of the tyre markings and leant down to allow Artie to take a clear picture of the vague tread print on the ground.

Santana surveyed the area from top to bottom and scanned the alley from left to right. As her eyes skimmed again over the markings on the ground, she began to feel her heart thump heavily inside her chest.

"Mike." Santana whispered, pointing to something on the ground between the two tyre prints. Slightly ahead of the markings was a darkened red liquid and Santana was sickeningly certain it was blood.

Mike crouched down beside her, removing a clear bag and latex glove from his vest. Carefully scooping up the covered gravel, he placed it gently inside the bag before removing a strip of paper and sticking the lip of the bag down.

Quinn and Blaine rounded the corner a few feet away from them and explained that there were no other ground level entry points into the building.

"Given that the metal door we passed up there," Blaine gestured to the other end of the alley, "…was covered in dust and cobwebs, and had clearly not been opened in some time, I'd say they didn't enter the building at all. I think this was just a stop off for them, that's if Artie secured the correct locat-"

"Look. What's this?" Quinn interrupted him and Santana turned to see the woman pointing to a portion of the grey brick building.

The other crew members walked a few paces to have a closer look and as Santana tried to manoeuvre herself around Lauren for a better look, she accidently kicked a filthy metal trashcan sending a loud noise echoing off the high brick walls of the alley.

Looking down, she felt her heart leap into her throat as she saw Brittany's bag lying inside the top of the trashcan and resting on it was one half of her old cell phone which she would have used to phone Artie only one hour before.

Mike reached over her and, with a fresh glove fitted over his hand, picked up the dissected phone and placed it inside another small, plastic evidence bag.

"I'll look for the rest of it." He mumbled, almost to himself.

Santana took a pair of gloves from the front pocket of her vest and wiggled her fingers into them, careful not to add too much friction to her throbbing knuckles, and was mildly satisfied by the sharp snap the band made against the skin of her wrist. Reaching into the trash can, she picked up Brittany's bag and crouched down beside the bin to riffle through it. Santana's only question was answered when she slipped her hand into the inside pocket and found Brittany's iPhone. While the phone itself appeared unharmed, Santana's heart sank further at the realisation that Brittany officially had no means of contacting them.

Standing back up, Santana turned back to face the wall and she noticed Quinn was the only officer still focussed on the brick area above the trash can. Looking behind her, she saw Lauren, Mike and Blaine scanning the ground, possibly looking for any traces of the remainder of Brittany's phone.

Her attention was drawn to Quinn once again as she heard the sound of her photographing the spot on the wall which had captured her attention for the past two minutes. Moving to stand directly behind Quinn, Santana finally saw what they had all previously been looking at so intently.

As an obnoxious and unwelcome wave of heat overtook her, Santana doubled over coughing and choking as the vomit hit the gravel surface below her, some of the foul liquid splashing onto her black boots and navy cargos.

Feeling a soothing hand patting against her back, Santana's eyes watered as she felt her stomach lurch once more, the acidic fluid burning her throat while the image of bloodied handprints against the grey brick wall flashed in her mind.

* * *

**Friday 1:23pm**

Santana barely remembered the trip back to the SRS warehouse, or Quinn helping her change out of her soiled uniform and back into the jeans and hoody which had been stashed inside her locker.

She barely remembered Mike slamming Karofsky against the metal and yelling something incoherent at him after he berated her for the pathetic state she was in and she barely remembered Mercedes and Tina arriving, together, to take her home.

Acutely aware that her life had spiralled quickly downward in the space of a few hours, Santana allowed her best friends to take control. She knew it was what they both needed right now and she also knew, as much as she hated to admit it, that she was in no state to take care of herself.

Mercedes ran her a hot bath and the steam which clouded the room, as well as the bubbles which sat on the surface of the water, were enough for her to feel obscured from her friend's concerned gaze. Mercedes looked away as she held up the large bath towel twenty minutes later, wrapping Santana in it and gently smoothing her hands over the cloth to dry her off. Pulling the towel around her chest and tucking the corner in on itself under her arm, she turned in her friend's arms, sobbing against a strong shoulder. The scene itself all too similar to that of three years before.

Warm toast and a cup of camomile tea were waiting for her on the small dining table when she exited the bathroom. She cried while she ate, completely overwhelmed by the conflicting emotions of utter despair and uncompromising love which left her shaking as chill hit warmth against raw nerves. The two women sat in silence, watching her every move and, Santana knew, it was the only way it could be this time. Three years ago she would have told them to fuck off and leave her alone. She would have swiped the toast and tea from the table and told them to stop treating her like a child.

Three years ago, though, she nearly died right along with Simone and it wasn't because, as Tina had suspected, she'd tried to harm herself. It was because she had no strength or motivation to look after herself when the biggest part of her had been lowered into the ground. Back then, her friends had allowed her a small amount of space and time and quickly lived to regret it. This time they would remain in the same space and she knew their eyes would be on her all the time.

* * *

Like parents, Mercedes and Tina took turns helping her and, like a small child who knew nothing different, Santana let them. She forgot about the clock and the minutes which ticked away without Brittany, as Mercedes dried her hair for her in the bathroom. She didn't think once about seeing Simone's face at the cemetery as Tina filled a hot water bottle and let out the air before screwing the plug in place and she didn't even consider the two encounters with Karofsky as Mercedes fluffed her pillows on her bed.

Leaning over to place a kiss on her forehead as she lay down, Mercedes whispered softly against her ear.

"I got to go back and finish taping, but I'll only be an hour. T will be here the whole time and I'm only a phone call away if you need me, okay?"

Santana nodded and pressed her lips together as her chin began to twitch, warm tears springing to her eyes out of appreciation for everything her friend had done for her.

Her throat felt thick as she tried to respond, her throat sore and voice hoarse from coughing through vomit and tears.

"I lo- …I love you." She pressed her lips together again and felt them tremor as she tried to hold back the wave of emotion which came with saying those words for the first time in so long. She looked up at Mercedes, glassy eyes wide in utter surprise and relief that she'd actually said what she'd wanted to say to her for so long and as Mercedes wrenched her into a bone-crushing hug, clearly overwhelmed, she too began to sob.

"I know baby girl, I know." Mercedes whispered through heavy breaths.

Pulling back, she held Santana at arm's length, gripping onto her shoulders tightly. "I love you too, Santana. Always." With that, Mercedes pulled her close again and pressed her lips against Santana's forehead. "I'll be back soon baby girl. I'll see you soon."

As Mercedes walked out of her room, Santana could see her shoulders were slumped, heavy with worry and she felt guilty for making her two closest friends go through this, with her, again. At the doorway, the two exchanged an invisible baton and Tina entered the room carrying a glass of water and a packet of pills.

Popping one tiny, cream coloured pill from the blister pack, Tina offered it to Santana who glance at the box, eyes widening in question towards her friend.

"It's just one sweetie. Just to take the edge off. You need sleep and I'm _not_ going to leave them lying around." Tina's brow was furrowed, deep lines creasing her forehead.

"Did you pocket these at work?" Santana quizzed her, looked again at the blue, pink and white packet of Diazepam.

"It's your old prescription. There were still some left and I kept them…hidden, just in case." Tina licked her lower lip before biting down on it and waiting for Santana to take the tablet from her open palm.

"Just one." Santana clarified as she took it from Tina and raised her other hand for the glass of water.

"Just one."

Santana placed the tablet on her tongue and took a mouthful of water, throwing her head back to swallow. She felt the water sail past the tablet, now bleeding chalky residue onto her tongue and she gagged slightly as she took another swig from the glass to make the pill disappear.

As she placed the glass on her nightstand, she looked around to see Tina removing her shirt and slipping into bed beside her in a tank top and pale blue hospital issue trousers. When their eyes met, she saw Tina's face relax slightly and she felt herself smile faintly for the first time in hours.

"I was about to ask you to stay with me." Santana spoke quietly, laying down against the pillows as she kept her gaze trained on Tina.

"I know, and I also wouldn't have left if you'd asked me to. I'm not leaving at all this time San." Santana could see her best friend's eyes were rimmed red and bloodshot from tears she hadn't seen fall.

Feeling some confidence from the relief she experienced after speaking to Mercedes, she rolled onto her side and felt Tina bring her body up flush against her back. Curling into her, Tina draped an arm over her side and pulled her closer. Santana held Tina's hand against her stomach and felt her body relax as a kiss was placed against her hair.

"I love you T." She whispered the words, but knew Tina would hear them in the stillness of their space. Feeling Tina's embrace tighten even more she sighed and closed her eyes, more than prepared for sleep.

"I love you too sweetie. Always. I'm not leaving this time."

* * *

**Keen to read your thoughts :) Another [average looking] manip up on tumblr for this chapter. **

**balexi dot tumblr dot com**


	26. Chapter 26

**Thank you for your patience with this one folks. I know it has been a while coming.  
Thanks to all the newbies who have recently come on board with this fic :) And thanks again to everyone who takes the time to review. It means alot.**

**NB: This chapter was posted on April 15th. I hope it doesn't show up as a double update, but I removed a chapter and had to then re-post it. Sorry. Chapter 27 is the only new chapter to be posted on May 26th.**

* * *

**Chapter 26: Signs**

Santana slept heavily, unaware of the shifting weight behind her as Tina left and Mercedes arrived. Her dreams were vivid. She was taken back to high school, talking and laughing with her friends and performing on stage. She dreamt of times at home as a young child, rare moments of seeing her mother in an apron in the kitchen and her father in a matching one, helping to cook dinner. These peaceful fleeting seconds were quickly swapped for darker visions of never ending corridors and of seeing herself flailing under bed sheets, unable to pull them from her face. When she awoke with a start and flung herself to where someone should have been, beside her, looking after her, she panicked as she realised she was alone.

Leaping from the bed, her left arm limp beside her, tingling with pins and needles, she stumbled to her bedroom door and wrenched it open with her right hand. Leaning against the wall in the hallway, her head swam as the nausea from the day before threatened to return. _Brittany_.

She didn't know how long it had been since she had consciously thought about her and, instantly, she felt tears streaming down her face. Tripping over her feet she opened the door to the room beside hers and saw Mercedes' bed was made and clearly hadn't been slept in. Running, she forced her legs to move to the other end of the hall and she let out an audible sob, relieved as she saw Tina curled up in her own bed, sleeping peacefully.

Holding onto the doorframe for support, she took deep breaths, trying to force away the thoughts which were threatening to return to the front of her mind. She tried to welcome the sleep which was seeking to overcome her and, one tentative step at a time, she moved quietly towards her best friend.

Pulling back the covers slowly, Santana slipped into bed beside her and grabbed the edge of the spare pillow, forcing it to her mouth. Vulnerability like this she had felt before, but vulnerability like this we all forget. To remember a time when we felt this way, to dwell on it, to reminisce, becomes our undoing. Santana knew how painfully close she had come to faltering on the edge and it was taking every ounce of willpower to prevent herself from falling now.

As sobs wracked her body once again, she felt a warm arm encircle her and bring her close. Tina's breath against the back of her neck and her chest moving against her back, steadied her. Lowering the pillow from her face, she wiped the tears with her hand and grabbed at the covers, bringing them right up to her neck.

Santana began to feel sleep towing her back in and she could hear the material of the pillow case shifting against her shoulder with every breath. The pressure from Tina's arm, which was draped against her rib cage, was calming and she felt the goose pimples on her skin begin to retreat back inward as she relaxed into the warmth of the covers.

* * *

She awoke to the smell of breakfast and the sounds of an argument, both wafting down the hallway and into Tina's room. Looking around her, she noticed light creeping through the heavy maroon curtains and looked around for a clock. Noticing Tina's phone on the nightstand, she reached over and pressed the home key and was surprised to see that is was already past 11 am.

Making her way down the hall, she ducked into her own room to grab her robe and tied it loosely around her waist as she neared the kitchen. Stopping short, she frowned, listening in to the heated conversation between her closest friends. It wasn't unlike them to have the occasional spat but, to her knowledge, this was the first one which was entirely about her.

"…well it _is_ serious. I can't handle going through this again with her. What if it's the same as last time and what if it's up to _us_ to pick up the pieces? This shit shouldn't happen in people's lives twice, it shouldn't fucking happen once!"

Santana felt a chill run up her spine at Tina's words.

"I know that T! I was _with_ her from the moment I came home yesterday. Sam rang and I didn't want to _wake_ her by talking in the bedroom. I was only gone _twenty_ minutes. We were all here in the house together."

Santana could hear a tremor in Mercedes' voice amid her aggressive whispering and she was frozen to the spot, unsure whether to interrupt them or let it finish playing out.

"Fine, whatever, I don't want us to be fighting right now. I'm just so worried about her, and Brittany, I mean who the hell kidnaps adults anyway? I knew seeing this girl would lead to trouble, but I hadn't seen her so happy and just so…"

Tina's voice trailed off as she searched for the appropriate word.

"Santana?" Mercedes offered up and Santana found herself frowning, unsure of what the woman actually meant.

"Yeah. Santana. She was herself again. We had her back…"

Santana stopped listening, feeling awkward about the whole conversation, and tiptoed back up the hallway to slam a door before making a noisy entrance.

When she walked into the kitchen, she actually had to hold back a smirk as the two women were buzzing about the space preparing bacon and eggs like it was a choreographed routine and both had smiles on their faces which were the very definition of forced.

"Santana! You're up." Mercedes declared loudly and gestured for her to take a seat at the bench. Lowering her voice and dropping the act, her face returned to normal and Santana felt her chest grow heavy at the fear and concern in her eyes.

"How are you baby girl? Did that sleep help any?" Mercedes leant her elbows on the countertop, resting her chin on the heel of her left hand as she reached out with her right and grabbed Santana's.

Santana sighed. "I feel a little more human than I did yesterday. I can't believe I slept for so long."

"You needed it." Both Tina and Mercedes chimed in unison, and the three shared an amused smile.

Tina walked over to the bench with the frying pan and used tongs to pick up the rashers of bacon, placing two on each of their plates. Adding both implements to the pile growing untidily in the sink, Santana looked up at Mercedes who rolled her eyes, perpetually frustrated by Tina's domestic limitations.

The two came around to the other side of the bench and sat either side of Santana. As Mercedes spread margarine on her toast and began eating straight away, Santana glanced to her left to see Tina pushing the food around her plate with the back of her fork.

"Why aren't you at work T?" Santana nudged her playfully with her shoulder, hoping to illicit a smile from her friend.

Tina put down her fork and turned on her stool, facing Santana's side. She looked at Tina and for the first time she noticed just how tired she looked. Her eyes were rimmed red and her brow was creased, despite the fact that she was running her fingers along it firmly as though she were in pain.

"I've taken a couple of days off." She gestured towards Mercedes. "We both have. We're both here this time and we're going to keep you safe. We're both here this time."

Tina's nostrils flared as she tried to keep her emotions at bay, but Santana saw her eyes begin to shine with tears. Slipping off her stool she wrapped her arms tightly around Tina. Saying nothing, the two held each other and once again Santana was amazed by how calming it was to just be close to someone.

Clearing her throat, she sat back on her stool and reached over to Mercedes to take her hand.

"Thank you. Thank you both. You've already done so much for me and…it really means the world." Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes to try and compose herself. "I really don't expect you both to muck up your own schedules for me, but if you are going to be around, I could do with a ride to the warehouse this afternoon."

Both women began to protest instantly, talking over the top of each other trying to make their own points about why Santana should spend the remainder of her Saturday, if not her entire weekend, resting at home.

"Wait, wait. Stop. Would you both just stop for a minute, please." Santana held up a hand toward each of her friends and waited for the din to subside.

"You know me. You know I can't be in a quiet space with my own thoughts right now. It'd just drive me insane. I need to be there. I know my involvement in this case is unusual, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm good at my job…"

Santana continued, laying out reasons she felt were sufficient to convince her friends that she needed to be there. Eventually the two gave in, insisting that they be allowed to accompany her in order to keep an eye on her.

* * *

"…but that doesn't change the fact that I'm good at my job. You know I'm one of the best and if I can sit down with Artie in the lair and go back over that phone call and the events of yesterday, something is going to come to me, I know it."

Two hours later, Santana was pleading with Holly in the same fashion she had done with her friends. After Santana was taken home the previous afternoon, all of Shift 1 had been briefed on the full extent of Brittany's connection with the Hernandez vs. Flanagan case. As a result, most of them had volunteered to work overtime until the case was solved.

"Listen here sweet cheeks," Holly stood with one hand on her hip and the other on Santana's shoulder as she lowered her gaze to look her directly in the eye, "…I know how you operate and I understand you need a distraction from the questions as much as you need answers."

Santana nodded, feeling a strange sense of calm, mixed with slight trepidation, at her boss' words.

"So, I'll cut you a deal. You can stay. Your girls there," she turned, gesturing to Mercedes and Tina who were seated on a bench behind them in the locker room, "…they can stay too, but conference room only, nowhere near the lair. You work with Artie and Quinn, Lozza too when she gets back and I'll send the brawn out to check on any leads, okay."

Santana nodded, somewhat reluctantly, but was appreciative of the chance to prove that she could be an effective team member despite the unique brand of stress she was under.

"Shannon and Lozza are out following up on something which may be completely unrelated, Hudson, Anderson and Chang are cleaning equipment and doing a vehicle check, Will is…wherever Will is when he's not freakin' here and your _friend_ Karofsky," her emphasis on the word intrigued Santana, "…well he's at his Mama's bifthday," she strummed her bottom lip, making a childlike noise, "…so he can't come in today, but he said he'd come in tomorrow."

"Wow that's big of him." Santana rolled her eyes.

"So, you two," Holly turned again to Mercedes and Tina, "…umm Lamborghini and Christina Yang, no sticking your noses into the official stuff, alright?" Both looked mildly insulted, but nodded their heads in agreement.

Holly placed both hands on Santana's shoulders and looked her in the eyes once more before tapping the side of her face lightly as she spoke in an uncharacteristically quiet tone. "You look after yourself sweet cheeks. We'll find your girl. I know it."

* * *

Glancing into the meeting room again, Santana noticed both Tina and Mercedes were both still playing with their phones. Neither seemed to have much to say to each other and Santana was concerned that the drama she overheard earlier was a bigger issue than she'd thought.

"…so I reset the search and…Santana…Santana are you listening to me?"

She turned her attention to Artie who had been prattling on about a computer search that she had completely missed the context of. Quinn was seated on the other side of the room, staring at another computer screen, but glanced towards Santana to share a smile at Artie's frustrated tone.

"Sorry. What are we searching for again." She turned her seat so that she was directly facing Artie and his computer screen was flashing, distractingly, in the periphery.

The Intelligence Officer sighed, pushing his glasses further up onto his nose before continuing his breathy diatribe yet again.

"Right, so do you remember last week when I ran a search to see if there were any connections between the names Rory Flanagan and Eva Hernandez on public record?" Artie typed away on the keyboard as he spoke.

"Yeah, it was that Summer Camp. We figured that was probably how they met, right?"

"Well yes, that information still stands, but I thought I had continued the search to see if any other names came up in connection to the two. Only problem is, Susie was in on Sunday and then the whole Eva drama erupted and I completely forgot about it. Turns the fan was switched to 'manual' again and someone swapped the cabling over, so the search stopped running." Artie paused, momentarily, to draw breath before resuming.

"Anyway, I only thought of it yesterday afternoon when Holly was getting everyone up to speed on all the details. I ran the search again and…we have a result. It's kind of connected to why Lauren and Blaine are up to right now."

Quinn stood up from her position at her computer and walked around the desk to look down at Artie's screen. As Santana's eyes scanned across the screen to the name that was highlighted, Quinn read it aloud over Artie's shoulder.

"Emma Pilsbury. Fuck."

Shocked, Santana turned to look at Quinn, but her eyes were fixed to the screen.

"I know." Artie was staring in the same direction and Santana looked from one to the other, awaiting an explanation.

"Well I _don't_ know. Who is Emma Pilsbury?" Santana folded her arms.

"Emma was Will's wife Santana. She's the one that died in the car accident last year." Artie frowned, as if waiting for Santana to show any signs of recognition.

Santana sat, head bowed, trying to process what it could possibly mean. While she was trying to piece together the puzzle swirling about in her head, Quinn spoke up.

"She was a counsellor. Like, that was her actual profession. It's possible that she dealt with Rory and Eva in more than one capacity. If she knew about their connection…"

"She knew too much…" Santana was virtually speaking to herself as she tried to let her mind wander back through the details of one of the longest weeks of her life. "…Eva Hernandez said someone else might have been killed. She said people die when they know too much. What if the accident wasn't an accident? What if Emma Pilsbury was murdered?"

Thousands of thought flooded Santana's mind and as soon as the missing piece of the puzzle fell into place she felt sick to her stomach. _Will Schuester. Will Schuester who was asleep on the job, slept at work, rarely arrived at work when actually rostered on for shift._

"Where the fuck is Will Schuester right now?" Santana's voice had started out low, but she began to feel her tone changing with each new thought that entered her head. "He knows something. That fucking prick must be involved somehow." She stood up from her chair and bagan pacing around the room. " It's not a coincidence that whoever has Brittany knows about me and her. They know where she lives. The put that envelope in my locker. It got in here somehow. And that fucking bastard has been to _her house_!" She yelled those last two words and looked up to see both Mercedes and Tina staring in her direction, alarmed looks on their faces, despite not being able to see through the glass.

"Santana, that's where Shannon and Lauren are now. They've gone to his place to verify that he's sick and to do some digging." Artie spun his chair around and wheeled himself over to her.

"You already knew about this? Why didn't you tell me?" Santana was trying desperately to stay calm, knowing that if she lost control she'd have Tina, Mercedes _and_ Holly breathing down her neck.

Artie shook his head slowly from side to side. "I didn't know about Emma until just now. If the cabling hadn't been messed with, we would have known this a week ago." He leant one arm against the desk beside him and lowered his head, running his through his hair and massaging his head.

"Holly's been looking into Will for a little while now." Quinn spoke up, walking towards Santana and sitting herself down on the edge of the desk. "Things haven't been adding up for some time. He certainly hasn't been right since she died and I think Holly's trying to shift him out or sideways, but she needs something concrete in order to be able to do that. I don't know if she's made any connections between him and the case."

Santana nodded and turned around to join Quinn, leaning on the edge of the desk.

"Do you think he's the sort of person who could kill his own wife?" Santana's voice was now barely above a whisper, her voice hoarse from yelling and her mind overwhelmed by everything she was thinking and hearing.

Quinn shook her head lightly. "I don't know what sort of person could do that."

Artie was once again clicking buttons and typing furiously on the keyboard bringing up screen after screen and he made the image appear on one side of the digital display board.

"What are you looking up?" She walked back over to the chair she had occupied beside Artie and sat down heavily, watching the image on the larger screen past the man's shoulder.

"Dates. Alibis. Cheryl DeMart, Rory Flanagan, Felipe Hernandez. Each of them were killed while Will was here. DeMart was killed during the day when Will was on shift and the other two were killed overnight when Will was tagged in and probably sleeping here. Our tags all register electronically with the time and date we tag in and tag out. He's slept here about…30 times throughout the year. Between Frank's guys, Susie and Jo and the Shift 2 crew, there would always be heaps of people milling about. It has to be legit. I don't think he has had anything to do with the murders. Well, directly, at least."

Quinn had been on the phone while Artie was talking and sat it down on the desk before sighing and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Guys, Holly will be in shortly. Lauren and Shan are back. Will wasn't there."

* * *

Mercedes and Tina took the remainder of the afternoon in shifts. When Mercedes returned at 5:30pm, Tina left to collect some take out for dinner; a long list of orders from most of the crew.

After Shannon and Lauren had returned, the crowded control room fell virtually silent as they joined Holly, Quinn, Artie and Santana, each searching up information on a different device. The wiring of the equipment and tapping on keys and screens were the only sounds to be heard.

They learned that Will had no assets aside from his home, which he now owned thanks to the life insurance pay out after Emma's death. He had refused to buy and new car and had no money tied up in anything else that they could locate.

Shannon tracked down the address of both Will and Emma's parents and Mike, Blaine, and Finn had been tasked with visiting the two couples and trying to ascertain any information on Will's whereabouts.

When they were finishing up with their greasy food, and paper wrappers were strewn from one end of the control room to another, Shannon left apologetically due to a basketball games she was unable to find a replacement for. Artie had been fussy about other people eating around the equipment and yet, as Santana was moving around the room with a waste paper basket, collecting all the wrappers, he was typing away intently with one hand while his burger was dropping lettuce dangerously close to his keyboard.

"Wheels, what's got you behaving like a hunch-backed gamer?" Holly balled up a brown paper bag and threw it across the room, with Santana moving just in time to catch it in the basket. She marvelled at the way the woman managed to turn even the worst of situations into some sort of half-assed comedy routine.

"Will has a kid." Artie mumbled the information like it was a shameful confession of his own.

"What!?" Santana responded at the same exact time as everyone else.

"Well it's not a kid anymore. He's 25 years old. That means Will must have been…" Artie paused as if the math on that one genuinely stumped him.

"16." All humour had drained from Holly's face and the expression Santana saw replace it looked hauntingly like the one she'd seen when Holly told her Brittany was missing. _Brittany_.

"His name is Jesse St. James. His mother is a Frances St. James and it seems she went to high school with Will. She lives in the area and he possibly still lives at the same residence as I can't seem to find anything registered under that name." Artie had now placed the entire burger down next to the computer, the contents spilling out unnoticed. As everyone stood around the room looking gobsmacked, Santana spoke up.

"Okay. So that's really weird that he has a really old kid that none of us knew about, but what does that tell us about his involvement in this case. How does it get Brittany back?"

"It doesn't. What it does though is prove to us that he can't be trusted. He has a mystery kid. He's always calling in sick, he's not at his house and his parents and ex-in laws apparently know nothing that can help us. I don't quite know how. But I'd bet anything he's involved."

As Quinn finished her statement, she turned to the digital case map and enlarged it to the full screen once again. Bringing up a picture of Will, she dragged it to the centre of the screen in between the images of Brittany and Eva. Santana felt a chill run through her body at the very thought that, right in that moment, Will could actually be dangerously close to one or both of the women.

* * *

Around midnight, Mercedes and Tina managed to convince Santana that she needed sleep. She had almost drifted off at the computer an hour earlier when Artie left, leaving Susie in control of the organised chaos of the lair.

During the drive home, Mercedes and Tina had another small argument about the fact that Sam was back at the apartment, probably asleep having let himself in a few hours before. Tina was angry that Mercedes had given him a key without consulting either of them and Mercedes had insisted that she hadn't given him a key, as such, she had given him _her_ key.

Washing her face a brushing her teeth before bed, Santana stopped to look at her reflection. She felt as though the person staring back at her was letting her down somehow. She was convinced that there was something obvious that she was missing and, like a word or a name you can't quite remember, she felt it resting on the edge of her mind, just out of reach.

After changing for bed, she sat down on her mattress and looked around her room. Brittany had never even been inside the space and yet she felt as though it wasn't right to be there, in bed, without her.

Pulling on a pair of socks, she felt content as though she was walking on clouds; the thick cotton meeting the soft carpet underfoot. Walking quietly, she made her way up the hall towards Tina's room, expecting to see the woman curled up asleep.

Instead, Tina was sitting up, her back against the headboard and her bedside lamp illuminating the pages of a well-loved book. As Santana leant against the doorframe, Tina looked up from her page and grabbed for a tattered cloth bookmark which was lying next to her on the bed. Marking her page, she placed the book on the nightstand and turned her head, smiling in Santana's direction.

"I was waiting for you." She patted the space next to her and reached behind her to grab the second pillow, throwing it the short distance to Santana as she stood beside the bed.

"You don't mind?" Santana slipped off her robe and threw it over the chair in the corner.

"Not at all. I feel better if you're here with me. That way, I know that you're okay." Tina stretched one arm along the headboard and Santana moved over, sitting next to Tina as she brought her arm down across her shoulders. Tucking her legs up into her body, Santana rested her arms on her knees, fidgeting with her fingers.

"I feel kind of numb T. And not like with the pills. I feel like I've kind of had to shut it out so I don't go crazy. Logically I know how bad this all is and it's been close to 48 hours, which is alarming really, but it's like the part of me that knows won't let the part of me that cares feel anything."

Tina squeezed her shoulder, bringing her closer and placed a kiss on the side of Santana's forehead.

"Sweetie, normally numb would scare me and I'd be trying to do something about it, but right now I'm grateful that you've gone into self-preservation mode. It won't be much longer. You won't have to worry about feeling this way soon because it will all be over and you'll be back in _your_ bed with _Brittany's_ arms around you."

Moving her arm, Tina shuffled down the bed and fluffed her pillow before lying down. Mimicking her actions, Santana settled into bed, Tina's covers pulled up to her chest, and she lay on her back staring at the ceiling.

"I don't know how you can be so sure about that T, but it feels good to hear you say it."

"Get some sleep sweetie." Tina placed another kiss to Santana's temple. "You're going to need your energy to kick some ass tomorrow.

Santana let out a small chuckle and gave Tina a tight squeeze before turning over and settling against the pillow. As her eyelids grew heavy, she placed her finger tips to her forehead, her chest, her left shoulder, then her right and began her first conversation with God in over three years.

* * *

In stark contrast to the peaceful wake up of the morning before, Santana was startled in the early hours of Sunday by Mercedes barrelling into Tina's room with Santana's phone in her hand.

"Missed calls." She gasped. "Heaps of them. Your boss ended up ringing me. Go to work." Mercedes threw the phone onto the bed, hitting Santana squarely in the chest and Tina groaned as Mercedes thumped her way out the door and back along the hallway.

"What the fuck did she want?" Tina rolled over to face Santana and used her arm to shield her eyes from the light.

"Don't worry T, go back tosleep."

As Santana licked her lips and wiped a hand over her face in an effort to remove the remaining sleep from her system, she pressed on Holly's name which was displayed in red at the top of her recent calls list. Looking at the time, she was surprised that her body clock had still not reset itself to normal and marvelled at the fact that 8am looked a lot different from bed than it did after her second black coffee at work.

"Santana, hi. Did your friend give you the message?" Santana could hear commotion in the background and wondered whether Holly was driving or was actually at work.

"Um, no. She just threw my phone at me and told me to go to work. What's going on?" Santana was already up and gathering her robe and the socks which she must have discarded, sleepily, during the night.

"Can you get in here Santana? Artie's been sent a video. It's the same as the one the Hernandez family received of Eva, but it's an original and much clearer than the images from Martinez' phone." Holly covered the mouthpiece and spoke to someone, but Santana couldn't make out who or what due to the muffled tone as she opened her chest of drawers searching for sweats and underwear.

"So if the footage is clearer are there any clues as to where Eva actually is?" Santana cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she pulled down her bed shorts and quickly replaced them with panties and navy sweat pants.

"Santana…" Holly paused and Santana stood back upright, holding the phone to her ear properly, "…the footage isn't of Eva. It's of Brittany."

Santana sunk down onto her bed and covered her mouth with her hand as she let out a long breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding in. As relief and a heightened concern fought for dominance inside her mind she informed Holly she'd be there in ten minutes and raced around her room pulling on a bra, t-shirt and shoes.

* * *

Realising she hadn't brushed her teeth, Santana swiped some gum from the small console between her seat and Tina's. Having been woken up again by Santana's frantic rushing, she had pulled on a hoody over her pyjamas and driven Santana to work.

Running up the stairs and straight down the corridor to Artie's lair, she was surprised to see the whole crew gathered around a large monitor. Half of them were in uniform and the other half were in varying states of casual attire, as she was.

"Have you watched it yet? Is she okay?" Santana spoke quietly to Holly who shook her head and leant over to tap Artie on the shoulder.

"We were waiting for you." Quinn's tone matched Santana's as she pushed past Karofsky and came to stand beside her. "Are you ready?"

Santana nodded her head and Artie turned back towards the monitor to press play. To begin with the footage was shaky and out of focus and seemed to be aimed at a concrete floor. The sounds were muffled and no voices could be heard until the vision swept upward to where Brittany was seated on a chair in the middle of the room.

Santana felt her breath catch in the back of her throat at the sight of her girlfriend, hair limp and clothes grubby. Her ankles were tied to the legs of the chair and there was something wrapped around her torso, attaching her to the chair back. In front, her hands were bound together at the wrists by what appeared to be duct tape. Looking more closely, Santana squinted at the footage and brought her hand to her mouth in concern, sure that the brown stains on Brittany's shirt were dried blood. Her usually bright features were dull, her eyes blackened from either bruising or a lack of sleep.

Santana watched on, a sick feeling settled in her gut, Brittany was fidgeting nervously and as she made eye contact with the person operating the camera she spoke.

"Can I speak now and get this over with?"

Santana's heart sank at the dejected tone in Brittany's voice and the look in her eyes. She kept looking from her hands to the camera and periodically raised her eyebrows as though she was having trouble keeping her eyes open.

"Alright. This is a message for Santana." As Eva had, Brittany appeared to be reading from something to the right of the camera, her words spoken slowly. Upon hearing her own name, Santana sat down on the desk behind her and swallowed at the growing lump which formed in her throat.

"Nobody has harmed me but the only way to guarantee my continued safety is with money. You have 24 hours to wire $500,000 to the account specified in the email. The 24 hour period begins from the timestamp on the email. For every hour the money is late…" Brittany paused, her hands fidgeting in her lap once more, "…for each hour the money is late I will be the one that has to pay."

Santana watched as Brittany's gaze flickered up and down. She didn't want to know how Brittany would be made to pay, but she knew Holly would find a way to ensure that the money was in that account if they hadn't found out any more within the timeframe.

"This is…" Brittany shook her head from side to side before glancing down at her hands once more, "…this is your fault," she shook her head again and Santana could hear the emotion rising in her voice, "...Santana. This is what happens when you start to interfere." This time as Brittany hung her head, Santana was sure she was crying and felt tears slip silently down her own cheeks as the screen went black in front of them.

Using both hands to wipe her eyes she instructed Artie to play the footage again. Something about Brittany's mannerism hadn't seemed right at all.

They watched the clip again. And again. And again. Each time Santana focussed on something different. Her eyes, her voice, her facial expressions. As the footage was played for a fifth time, Santana lurched forward and asked Artie to enlarge it so they could see her hands more clearly. Starting the clip again, they all focussed in on Brittany's hands and without the distraction of her eyes and the shaking of her head, it was obvious.

"She's signing. Her hands are forming those shapes on purpose. See there," Santana pointed to the screen and felt Holly and Quinn step closer to her, "… right there it stops and then when she starts up talking again the gestures are the same."

Santana looked at Holly for some kind of confirmation and she shrugged her shoulders. "Seems plausible sweet cheeks, so does anyone know what the hell she's signing?" Holly looked around the room and was met with blank stars and people shaking their heads.

"Becky." She nodded to herself as the answer became obvious. "We need to get Becky Jackson in here now."

* * *

Blaine and Mike went to collect Becky from the house and while they were gone, everyone busied themselves with various tasks. Santana spent the time sitting next to Artie asking him to focus in on different spots of the footage, trying to locate any clues whatsoever.

When Becky arrived, 45 minutes later, a few members of the SRS filtered back into the control room to watch. Santana leapt from her seat and walked over to embrace the shorter woman in quick hug. Instantly, she felt guilty for not having spoken to Becky over the past two days, knowing that she would have been out of her mind with worry also.

"Blaine filled you in?" Santana asked as she gestured for Becky to take a seat in between her and Artie. Becky nodded firmly.

Behind them, Karofsky mumbled something which Santana was certain involved the word 'retard'. Filled with rage, she looked at Becky, knowing she had heard it too and turned slowly in her chair.

"What the fuck did you just say asshole?" Becky took the words right out of Santana's mouth, standing up to face the man and Santana gasped in both shock and admiration.

"It was nothing, don't worry about it." Karofsky waved his hand at her, dismissing her comment.

"Oh, I'm not worried, asshole, I think everyone here knows you are the only retard in the room." She sat back down, but turned her head to face him.

"If you flip your fucking hand at me again, be prepared to lose a thumb, now if you don't mind, asshole, I'm about to do a job. That. You. Can't. Do." She spoke the final words slowly, as if Karofsky really was quite simple, before turning her eyes back to the monitor and cracking her knuckles.

"Let's do this shit."

Santana stifled a giggle as Artie pressed play on the footage Santana knew by heart. Becky had a pen and paper in front of her and was scrawling down letters and scribbling them out as she looked from the screen to her page and back again, repeatedly.

"Can you slow this down at all. It would have been a lot easier if Britt had her hands free for this." Santana smiled at her attempt at a joke as Artie manipulated the footage and slowed it down.

"_Eve…Evasf…Eva's fine…"_ Becky spoke as she wrote down the lettering.

"_Cops…wi-_ take it back a bit," Becky instructed Artie, "…_cops will marti_."

Becky turned to Santana shaking her head. "That makes no sense."

"Well the first part does, _'Eva's fine'_, that's really good. Maybe it will be clearer further on, I'm pretty sure it's the same signs all the way through."

Artie played the footage again.

"Okay. _Cop_, she definitely says _cop, c-o-p. Will, will_ what though because after that she spells out _Martin, m-a-r-t-i-n_."

Santana thought about it for a minute and looked down at Becky's notes. 'Cop will Martin'. As Becky traced the word 'cop', making it darker with her pen she felt her stomach drop at the thought that their previous suspicions might be true. She turned to Holly who was standing behind them, brow furrowed in concentration.

"What if she means a cop called Will? I think she's telling us it's Schuester. And if fucking Flanagan's involved too, that's could be Martin."

Holly nodded. "You might be onto something there sweet cheeks, but I would be shocked to find that Will had anything to do with Flanagan.

"Well we have to do something, we've tracked him and the boys down before." Santana got up from her seat. "Who's coming with me?" Santana made to move towards the door, but Holly caught her by the shoulder.

"No, I really think we've got the wrong idea. Schue has done so much over the last four years to try to bring down the Flanagan clan. He would have literally been working against them. If she does mean Will has her, there must be something else. Wheels can you run a cross check on Schuester and the name Martin? Surname and first name."

Artie nodded and turned to another computer to his right and started typing. While he did so, Santana reached over Becky and pressed play, the footage continuing from the spot it was paused at.

"She's signing the same again. It's the same message." Becky mumbled quietly as her eyes stared at the screen unblinking. "Hang on, take it back. I think maybe its _Martine_ and not _Martin_. A lady? Take it back. Take it back."

Becky tapped Santana's arm frantically. Watching the footage yet again, Santana was becoming even more confused. At least the name _Martin_ had some kind of tangible connection, but _Martine_…

Her thoughts were interrupted by Becky tapping her arm again. "It's a Z, it's a Z."

Santana frowned, looking from Becky to the footage in front of her. Becky had taken in back yet again and Santana could clearly make out the swiping motion Brittany was making with her finger. Like the sword of Zorro, this symbol was obvious, now, even to her.

As the pieces of the puzzle fell into place around her, Santana looked up at Holly, her voice echoing her own as their eyes widened simultaneously.

"Martinez."


	27. Chapter 27

**Thanks again for all new follows/faves/PM's and reviews, you guys are great. I especially appreciate those who take the time to review each chapter - mainly looking at you Kell :) - you're awesome.**

**Also, welcome to TJ who has just come on board - have very much appreciated your reviews and commentary :)**

**Feel like I should put a violence warning on the next couple of chapters too...**

* * *

**Chapter 27: Code**

He pulled her up violently by the wrists and, turning her body away from him, slammed her down against the hood of the car again, face first. With her hands being held behind her back, her head and chest felt the bulk of the impact and she was sure the crack she heard was her nose breaking against the car's paintwork.

With pain shooting instantly to her eye sockets she let out a pathetic whimper and wrenched her right hand from his grasp, bringing it to her face. Pulling herself away from the hood, momentarily, she wiped her palm delicately across her face and tasted her own blood as it coated her hand. Brittany cried out in agony as she hesitantly touched the bridge of her nose, which was throbbing intensely. The sound of her blood pumping reverberated in her ears and through her head.

In a split second he had hold of her again. He was certainly stronger than he looked initially. Brittany's only moment of relief was the fleeting thought that she, too, was much stronger than she appeared and as soon as the shock of pain wore off, she was confident she'd be able to put up a reasonable fight.

With each heavy beat of her pulse inside her chest, Brittany thought of everyone she needed and everyone who needed her. She thought of everyone this could affect. _Santana. Becky. Sugar. Puck. Beth. Karen. Kurt. Katie. Bea. James._

_Santana_.

This name pulsed through her veins in time with the rapid flowing of her blood. As that same blood reached her heart it began to ache. Four hours ago she had felt content. She was in love and she felt her life was falling into place in a way, she was sure, it never had before. As Jesse pulled her away from the car again, and pushed her against the brick wall near the trash can, she pictured Santana's eyes which had lit up as she had uttered the words to her which meant the most. She heard another vehicle pull up behind Jesse's and turned to look at it as she recalled the biggest change she'd ever seen in Santana, in the smallest fraction of time. There was a fear and a deep sadness behind her eyes, which Brittany had never seen in her before, and it scared her.

When Brittany began to cry, it had nothing to do with the cable ties which were pulled too tightly around her wrists, pinning them at her back. It had nothing to do with the shove Jesse gave her as he ushered her, unceremoniously, into the back of the van. It had nothing to do with shock of hearing two male voices yelling at each other aggressively, the sound muffled slightly from her place inside the vehicle. Every tear that fell was for Santana and the words she knew the officer could not say.

Brittany tried to lean her body against the cold plastic interior of the van as it sped, in reverse, up the laneway Jesse had originally driven them into. As it came to a sudden halt, changing directions, she was thrown across the back of the van and ducked her head to avoid another assault on her face. She had collided with the metal screen which acted as a barrier between her and the man driving the vehicle. He was now driving at a rapid pace on a long stretch of road and Brittany, grateful for small mercies at this point, was pleased there weren't any turns. Kneeling, she could just see the back of the man's head. He had curly brown hair, lighter in colour and shorter than Jesse's had been, but she was unable to stretch her body high enough to see his eyes in the rear-view mirror.

A Perspex screen on the other side of the metal was either working as a sound barrier, or the vehicle was completely silent. Brittany wiped her cheeks on each shoulder, careful not to bump her nose and wished for something, to distract her from the thoughts which eddied in her mind in time with the sickness churning in her stomach.

Settling down on the floor of the van, Brittany stretched her tied hands as far as she could to the right of her body and linked her fingers into the holes in the metal screen. Unfolding her legs and putting them straight out in front of her, she tried to brace herself against the side of the vehicle in preparation for the next turn which would throw her body in the opposite direction to its predicted course of motion.

Several such turns saw her body slamming against the side of the vehicle and her fingers throbbing from the pain of trying to maintain her grip on the screen. When the van finally pulled up, Brittany had no perspective on how much time had passed since they'd sped off from the industrial part of town. She suspected, however, that it had been no more than 15 minutes.

The metallic taste of her own blood in her mouth was sickening. Despite experiencing difficulty breathing through her nose, she could smell the blood as it mixed with her sweat; both substances seeping, in opposing directions, through her clothes.

Brittany saw the driver exiting the vehicle and heard each footstep crunching along the gravel outside. She felt her breath hitch as he swung the back door open, but she barely caught a glimpse of his face before a thick, black hood was thrown swiftly over her head. Closing her eyes, Brittany tried to conjure an image of the man she'd seen just before the material slid painfully over her sensitive face. Shuddering, she was certain it was the face of Santana's colleague who had come to her house only a few days before. The dishevelled man looked distinctly like Senior Sergeant Schuester.

* * *

After being marched inside a building she could not see, one hand gripping her shoulder firmly and the other holding her bound hands behind her back, Brittany heard a door open and felt herself being pushed through it. She felt Will grab both shoulders now and lower her to the floor slowly. Frowning underneath the thick material, she wondered why he hadn't used more force, but was more than grateful the man had taken a different approach to Jesse's.

A moment later, a door closed loudly somewhere to the right of her. The sound echoed around the seemingly empty space as it fitted into its frame, and she was left alone as she heard his footsteps fade off into the distance. Brittany shuffled backward, leaning into a corner, back pressed firmly up against the wall with just enough room for her bound hands to rest behind her. The cement flooring was cold against her body and she could feel the rough ridges of the exposed brick wall at her back.

Feeling exhausted, she fought the drowsiness which was threatening to consume her and the more she fought to stay awake the harder it was to hold her tears at bay. Beneath that hood they streamed down her cheeks as she breathed in the musty scent of the material over her head. Disbelief, confusion and the unfamiliar feeling of anger combined, stinging at her eyes, and caused her shoulders to shake uncontrollably.

She made several weak attempts to remove the hood, but found leaning forward was difficult due to the increasingly unbearable pain across her chest. Without her hands to assist her she did something she'd never done in her whole life. She just gave up.

* * *

Brittany knew it was Friday, but as she awoke groggily, that was all she knew for sure. With no idea of where she was or what she had become mixed up in she shuddered, feeling cold both inside and out. Having fallen asleep from pure exhaustion, and a probable lack of oxygen, she began to feel almost frantic as she knelt on shaking knees to try and remove the heavy black material yet again.

Cold and anxious she cried out and was shocked to hear her own voice bouncing off the walls, the sound returning to her. A greater shock came, however, when she heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, followed by footsteps approaching her from the right. Her body stiffened instinctively as she felt the pressure of a hand on her head and she cried out again as the hood was wrenched dramatically away from her. The action pulled painfully at her hair, bringing tears to her eyes at once, and brought her attention back to her throbbing nose as the material flicked against it.

Expecting to see Will or Jesse, Brittany's eyes widened when the face she actually saw was his. She felt bile rising in the back of her throat as her stomach dropped and she was forced use all of her diminishing strength to stop herself from vomiting right there in front of him.

"Hello Brittany. Do you remember me?" The words dripped from his tongue and a condescending smile was plastered across his face. She was surprised to hear him speaking English. The only time she had ever witnessed him speaking before, he was yelling at Sofia in Spanish. _Eva_.

Looking up at him, everything instantly came together in her mind. Sofia. Eva. The Uncle. The Party. Eva's disappearance. All of that now made perfect sense, but she could still not see herself in that puzzle.

"I do." A chill ran down her spine as she spoke the words, now unable to even look at him.

"Where is she?" Brittany flexed her fingers and tried to stretch her arms out behind her, but to no avail. She winced at the pain in her chest and took a breath to steady herself before drawing her gaze back up towards his menacing stare once again.

"Where is _who_, Brittany?" His voice took on a different tone at this question. There was an element of challenge there, as if he was daring her to say the name which still felt somewhat uncomfortable each time she let it escape her lips.

"Where. Is. Eva?" Brittany didn't even recognise her own voice as it asked the question slowly and deliberately. She had experienced sorrow and pain in her life, sure, but never before had she held so much resentment and utter hatred towards another human being. The feeling scared her, as did the low tone of her voice, purposefully laced with a thick layer of threat. Looking at him, she felt her own eyes narrow and her jaw stiffen, and in her mind she warned him repeatedly: _If you've hurt her, if you've done anything to her you bastard, I'll…_

The sound of his laughter cut through her thoughts and her heart beat frantically in her chest.

"Oh, so its _Eva_ now, is it? You sound _very_ familiar. You almost sound as if _you knew her_." He brought his face unbearably close to hers as he spat those final three words. She heard his accent thickening as he lost the ability to control the pitch of his voice.

"You _never_ knew her, you stupid bitch. You knew _nothing_ about her. I tried to keep her safe. I tried to keep her safe," he repeated the words as he tightened his fist in his own hair, gripping the short tufts until his knuckles turned white, his voice raising with every word, "…you drew attention to her, people started to notice her and whenever she was with you I couldn't keep her safe." That last word ricocheted off the wall behind her followed his footsteps across the room.

He paced away quickly, retreating like a wounded animal, his feet pounding heavily against the concrete floor. This sound resonated more subtly off the walls, though still a strong bass beat to Brittany's growing panic. Crossing the room, he stopped by the door and Brittany observed the dramatic rise and fall of his shoulders as he tried to steady his breathing. As she watched him, she was breathing low and purposefully into her stomach to avoid strain on her aching upper body.

In the silence of the room, a thousand thoughts and connections filtered through her mind, but not one of them explained _why_. It made some degree of sense that this guy would want to harm Eva. He'd always been a threatening presence in her life, but why would he also seem so adamant about having tried to protect her?

Brittany's head swam with far more questions than answers and when he turned back to look in her direction, leaning briefly against the door frame before striding aggressively towards her, she whimpered at the expression of wrath upon his face. Across her own she felt his hand which connected sharply with her skin, her cheek smarting as she fell to the ground, the force enough to knock her over.

Hearing the uncle exit the room as she lay against the cold floor, Brittany closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on controlling her breathing. An aching shoulder could now be added to her list of weaknesses and she grit her teeth, nostrils flaring, determined not to cry again.

* * *

People always talk about time as being a problem of some kind. There is too much of it when we're waiting and not nearly enough when there is work to be done. People talk of the freedom which comes with doing away with watches or clocks, of not constantly monitoring where in the day you are or how much is left. People talk only of time's imposed limitations. There is never any praise for time.

Brittany felt she would do anything for time in that moment. She couldn't be sure what moment it was, but she was sure that the people who disregarded its importance so easily had never been in her position. Presently that position was lying uncomfortably on her side in an increasingly dim room, knees pulled up as close as possible to her chest and her hands now clasped together, holding onto each other, at the small of her back.

She tried counting seconds … _one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi_…

She tried singing songs she'd used for routines and timed perfectly …_3:45, 4:16, 2:21_…

She tried a lot of things, but without knowing what time of day he'd left the room, her estimations of almost an hour on her own meant nothing. It simply came down to knowing she'd been there an hour after him.

When the door swung open 646 Mississippi's and 15 songs after he'd left, she only felt relief. She needed a reason to stop counting. She thought she would almost volunteer her face for another slap if it meant being able to escape her own thoughts for a moment or two.

As soon as the footsteps began, however, the overwhelming feeling of dread set in once more. Craning her neck slowly she straightened out her body, tensing every muscle as her gaze shifted towards the sound. She was surprised to see the face of Will, instead of that of the uncle, and he stepped over her body, kneeling down behind her and began fidgeting with her restraints. Head turned toward him, as much as possible, she strained her eyes to look at his and saw nothing there. His stare was void of all emotion as he locked onto her gaze, briefly, before cutting the plastic which was holding her uncomfortably in place.

Shifting gingerly, pulling her right arm out from under her body, she lay on her back on the cold flooring putting both arms out beside her. She stretched and flexed her fingers and rolled her wrists gently one way, then the other. Staring up at the man, she observed his paint splattered, pale blue jeans and his worn, misshapen white t-shirt.

"Stand up." The weary looking officer appeared to barely possess the energy to confidently project his command. Brittany rolled herself onto her hands and knees, gasping and cursing at the pressure in her chest as she attempted to push herself up from the ground.

Upon standing, the shift of blood in her battered body caused her to feel off balance and she was surprised when the officer reached out an arm in support.

"Thank you." The words spilt from her mouth involuntarily and she felt her cheeks redden at her own stupidity. He had driven her here. He was not about to help her beyond making sure she remained upright.

Looking straight past her, his expression unchanging, he spoke flatly once again.

"Come here and sit down." Brittany's brow furrowed in confusion and she turned, ever so slowly, towards the room's entrance.

Gasping, she brought a trembling hand to her mouth at the sight of Eva Hernandez. The paled woman's hands were behind her back, likely bound the way Brittany's had been only moments before. Her long brown hair framed the bruising on her face with unsettling perfection, unwashed and limp and every bit as lifeless as the woman herself. _Eva_. This was Eva Hernandez. Brittany breathed heavily through flared nostrils, biting down on the insides of her cheeks to prevent the waves of nausea and emotion which were threatening to overtake her. Looking at the broken woman before her, she could barely see a shadow of Sofia Ramos. This was Eva Hernandez.

* * *

With time still unaccounted for, Brittany took shallow breaths, feeling each of the wooden rungs of the chair against her back as she did so. Seated facing Eva, a four foot gap between them, they were a mirror image of each other. Hands now bound in front, their arms and torsos strapped to their identical chairs, duct tape wrapped tightly around their middles.

They could have shifted closer. They could have used their legs move the chairs and bridge the gap, but Brittany feared the noise they'd make and, more importantly, she feared the repercussions.

She didn't know what Eva feared because in the moments since Will had left them, the woman had said nothing. Her head had been bowed, the moment Brittany noticed her by the door had been their only moment of eye contact. Brittany hadn't taken her eyes off the woman and found herself watching her posture shift with every breath. Her eyes travelled over the parts of her which weren't hidden under a curtain of hair. Her hands looked old. She looked thinner than a woman of her height and build should be.

She had made several feeble attempts at conversation but, really, what do you say to someone who was your whole world for a time, but you may never have really known at all?

"Please just look at me." She kept her voice low, as though the woman before her was a skittish creature or a small child, not wanting to startle her.

A change in the pattern of her breathing was her only response to Brittany's words for the longest time and, assuming the silence would continue, Brittany hung her own head. Staring at the hands in her lap, unable to reach them higher than mid-chest, Brittany tried to think logically about their present state.

The SRS knew Eva was missing and would be under the impression Brittany's disappearance would be related. She recalled her conversation with Santana and Blaine the night of the first threat and she had mentioned the uncle. She wracked her brain trying to think of exactly what she had said about him.

"I'm sorry."

The sound was barely audible and Brittany thought she may not have even heard her had she not been between breaths. Ever so slowly she raised her head, almost afraid to meet the other woman's gaze.

Tears had tracked obviously down Eva's cheeks and Brittany found herself distressed at the fact that they had done so silently. As their eyes met, the distance between them far smaller than the last time, Brittany pressed her lips together, hoping to prevent her chin from wobbling, tears welling in her own eyes. Looking at Eva's, the ones she hadn't seen for years, she saw Sofia. This is when the tears began to fall uncontrollably. Her sobs unable to be quietened as she saw the Sofia she had seen on their last night together, a scared and damaged teenager.

"I'm sorry that you're here because of me. I tried to stop him." Eva bit down on her lower lip, her eyebrows furrowing as her tears continued to fall.

Brittany thought about moving her chair again, needing to comfort the woman, but didn't want to risk the uncle walking back in to see them sitting together. Wiping her cheeks against her shoulders, as she had done in the van, she looked directly at Eva, breathing as deeply as she could with sore ribs restricted by the tape.

"This is _not_ your fault. None of this is." Far from the pain Brittany was experiencing, she was aching to put her arms around the woman, feeling the gesture could say more than any amount of words in that moment.

Eva shook her head solemnly, eyes closed and crying silently once more.

"Eva?" As Brittany spoke, her head shot up at once, the pained expression distorting her features even further.

"I'm sorry about that too. I never wanted to lie to you," she paused, shaking her head more firmly than before, "…that was the only thing," she choked on tears, barely able to speak, "…I promise that was the only one."

Brittany felt her stomach drop and any remaining energy drained from her system seeing the utter despair in the other woman's form. Flattening her feet to the ground in front of her chair she rocked forward cautiously, careful not to let the wooden legs scrape along the concrete floor. Putting one foot out ahead of her, she steadied herself and took two steps forward, her eyes trained on the door. Stretching one leg forward a final time, her foot came to rest next to Eva's. Placing her other foot back between the legs of the chair for balance, she felt every muscle in her thighs working overtime as she lowered her chair back to the ground. The front legs of the chair touched the cement with barely a sound and, eyes closed, she continued to lower the back legs as slowly as possible. With her torso attached to the chair back, all her weight was behind her and, unable to maintain her balance, she scrunched up her face as she felt herself tipping back, the noise of the chair echoing throughout the room as it hit the ground.

Eyes closed tightly, she braced herself for the sound of desperate footsteps approaching their door and expected to see the uncle's fiery eyes glaring at her before he knocked her to the floor once again. But the footsteps didn't come. The door didn't open and when she squinted first through one eye, then the other, she and Eva were still alone, at least for the time being.

Brittany placed her feet either side of the two in front of her. When Eva looked up at her, she was sure she saw the faintest hint of a smile in the other woman's eye and was pleased she had taken a chance.

"It was a surprise to find out who you were, but I can understand why you would need to keep that from people." Brittany's tone was gentle, her head tilted to the side trying to hold the woman's worn gaze.

Eva looked at her, eyebrows raised in an expression Brittany couldn't quite read. "_You_ knew _me_ Brittany. You were the only one who ever did."

Brittany said nothing, offering only a sincere smile in response. Distracted by the abundance of thoughts, racing rapidly throughout her mind, Brittany wondered which question would be the best to ask in order to begin working out her place in the puzzle.

Eva broke the silence once again, scared and fragile as she made her request.  
"I'm tired B. I've barely slept all week. Would it be okay if you just sat there while I slept? I feel safer with you here."

Brittany's heart broke again and when she responded there was no sarcasm in her tone, she wasn't trying to point out the irony of their situation, she simply wanted Eva to know she could trust her.

"Get some sleep sweetie. I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

Having fallen asleep, herself, after going over only three memorized dance routines in her mind, Brittany awoke to find Eva gone. Will was seated in her place, now wearing a grey t-shirt and holding both a glass of water and a bowl of something which appeared equal parts foul and enticing, considering she hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before.

The cold metal blades of Jesse's scissors sliced through the duct tape, freeing her arms from their position, having been pinned to her body for at least six to eight hours. The two men urged her to hurry and she consumed the beverage and porridge-like substance quickly.

Bound to the chair again, she waited only a short time for the uncle to return, all the while wondering where Eva had been taken to and how long she'd been gone. The man didn't speak with her as he set up a small video camera, on a tripod, a few feet away from her. Beside this he sat the chair that Eva had occupied the night before and on the seat he positioned a large piece of brown cardboard which had words scrawled on it in thick black marker.

While he continued to set up the space, Will appeared with a warm wash cloth and, also without speaking a word to her, began gently wiping at her face. Removing the dried blood, he rinsed and wrung out the cloth several times. Pushing the small bucket aside, Will removed a blade from his pocket and, once again, the tape which was keeping her strapped to the chair was removed.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" The uncle's voice boomed from across the room. Brittany felt sick as she saw Will flinch, cringing at the aggressive tone the man had used. Turning to face him, Will's voice sounded even more fatigued than it had the night before.

"Do you want her on camera looking like this Martinez? There's blood on her shirt. She can wear this one," he held up a white t-shirt which looked very much like the one he'd been wearing the day before and lowered his voice, looking at Brittany, "…it's marginally better."

Handing her the shirt, Will turned his back on her and stood with his hands on his hips as though he was trying to shield her from the man he'd referred to as _Martinez_. Brittany changed quickly, the fading scent of men's aftershave confirming her suspicions that she was putting on Will's shirt. Pulling the top over her head carefully, Brittany ran the name through all the possible connections in her mind. It sounded familiar, but she was sure she'd never heard Eva refer to him by name when they were younger.

"You right?" Will asked over his shoulder, eyes still averted.

"Yes, thanks." Brittany handed him her shirt and placed her arms by her sides, prepared to be taped to the chair yet again. Winding a long piece of tape around her wrists as well, the man looked at her for a long moment. Brittany was sure he wanted to say something. Sighing deeply, he turned back to the uncle and stated flatly, "She's ready."

Leaving the room he hesitated at the doorway and Brittany offered him a half smile, completely confused by the man's careful actions considering his obvious involvement in something incredibly disturbing.

"Right, Brittany. You're going to read these words when I start recording. If this works _I_ will get what _I_ want and _you_ will get your _life_ back. _You_ need to do this properly. _Understand_?" Gesturing to the sign, Brittany ignored his question and read over the words she was required to say.

Considering her position, Brittany felt her pulse begin to race as she made a decision which was likely to result in another slap, or something much worse.

"I'll do it if you let me speak with Eva first. I need to know she's okay." Brittany was surprised by the confidence in her tone, not feeling a fraction of it on the inside, as she felt her entire body trembling in anticipation of his reaction.

"YOU don't make the rules around HERE." He yelled, but didn't move from his position beside the camera.

Observing each other for a long moment, both clearly at a loss for words, Brittany took a breath to compose herself before speaking again.

"I'll read it for your video if you let me speak with her. You obviously need me to do this. I will. But I want to speak with her first." Brittany shuddered at the look on his face as he fisted his hair again and glared at her.

"You get to speak to her after. Not before. I'll bring her in here, but you don't say a _fucking_ word to her until after." With long strides he made it to the door in only a few steps, slamming it intentionally behind him.

* * *

Brittany's mind went into overload as she tried to read the message on the cardboard, draw attention to her hands and keep signing her message all at once. Thinking and moving had never been a problem for her in the past. Whether it be the movement of her hands or the movement of her body, Brittany paired the two flawlessly, communicating best when moving in some form. With her wrists bound and chest aching from the new, tight restrains, she felt trapped. Limited to tiny motions with her right hand she was afraid she was unable to hold it at an angle to make her spelling clear. Glancing between her lap and the camera, she hoped desperately that Santana would notice her intentions. Despite the way she had left her, over 24 hours before, Brittany knew Santana could read her. She was confident Santana would know to look for something more than what Martinez wanted her to see. Reading Santana's name in black ink, and being forced to place blame on her, was breaking point. Each time the uncle pressed record, she held it together until then and, as the name left her lips, she fell apart.

The first time she cried he kicked the chair, nearest the camera, so dramatically that it went flying across the room. The second time, when she shook her head furiously at the words, he stalked over to her and screamed in her face to "FUCKING GET IT RIGHT!"

On their third and final attempt at recording, when Brittany felt exhausted and her signing became lazy, she managed to deliver the line with only a fraction of the emotion in her voice and the slightest shaking of her head.

When he laughed after switching off the camera, she knew she was in trouble. Eva knew it too, her eyes widening as he picked her up off the floor, hands bound behind her, and shoved her into Jesse at the door's entrance.

The uncle shut the door slowly and Brittany listened to it click, ever so quietly, into place. Her heart beat in her throat as he walked toward her, his eyes never leaving hers, and came to a standstill directly in front of her.

"I told you. You don't make the rules." In the split second between him raising his arm, and the back of his hand barrelling into the side of her head, Brittany had time squeeze her eyes closed tightly. She tried to brace herself for the impact, letting her world turning black a whole moment before the blow which sent her careening to the floor.


	28. Chapter 28

**Probably best if I put a violence/angst warning on this chapter folks. It has been a while coming, but is also the longest chapter so far.**

* * *

**Chapter 28: Loaded**

_Santana spent several minutes applying black polish to the toe of her right shoe, covering up a small scuff. Impressions were paramount today and as she shined the polish with an old rag from the cupboard, she fought to suppress the grin which had been plastered across her face for days. She tied her shoes and moved to stand in front of the mirror fixed to the back of the bedroom door. _

_Straightening her uniform, Santana stood proudly and admired the insignia, an addition to shoulders of her regulation black shirt. Receiving her first promotion since joining the police force was an incredible achievement for Santana, but having to start her new job on this particular day was somewhat disappointing. Heading out to the living room she crept up behind Simone, leaning down to put her arms around her neck as she sat on the sofa. Flinching in pleasant surprise, Simone lifted her head upwards, resting it back against the upholstery, and met Santana's lips in an upside down kiss. Giggling, she placed her half eaten bowl of cereal on the coffee table and turned around, kneeling up on the sofa to face Santana._

"_Damn, you look _so_ hot in that uniform, baby." Santana's smile returned at the compliment and she leant over, pulling Simone in for another kiss._

_Santana raked her eyes over her girlfriend and smiled thinking it was certainly not unusual for Simone to look incredibly hot in anything she wore. Her tiny bed shorts showed off unbelievably toned legs, while her skimpy robe barely hid her upper body; her tank top revealing delicious abs and shoulders._

_Simone's adorable grin emphasized her high cheekbones and reached her eyes which seemed to light up whenever she was proud of Santana. The feeling of seeing this reflected back at her filled Santana with a warmth that was completely unparalleled by anything else she had ever experienced. Each time she felt that life was serving her a tough course she was reminded of the look offered up by Simone and knew that each of her efforts, and every single risk, was worth it. _

_Remembering once again how important today also was for Simone, her face fell, the guilt washing in because she couldn't be there to cheer her on. A small weight also settled in her chest, knowing that her hours were going to be increasing as of today, meaning even less time together. She studied Simone's face as she felt arms slipping around her waist and pulling her flush against the back of the sofa. _

"_Hey, stop beating yourself up." Simone smirked knowingly as Santana's face changed. She had always been able to read her like a worn page in a well-loved book, somehow knowing what was going on and preempting what was to come. _"_Baby its _fine_. Honestly. I'm excited about today, but it's also a super important one for you and I know you'd be there if you could." Standing on the sofa, Simone wrapped her arms around Santana's neck, holding on tight before wrapping her legs around her waist, locking her ankles at the small of her back._

"_You probably shouldn't be trying to start something with me dressed like this." Santana murmured the words, smirking through kisses as she walked tentatively backwards. Turning near the entrance to the kitchen, she pressed Simone against the wall and leant into her placing slow kisses along her jawline and down her neck._

"_Uh, Jesus Tan, who's starting something? You better walk back through that door in this uniform tonight…"_

"_Uh-uh." Santana interrupted shaking her head. "I'm taking you out for dinner tonight, so you better be in something short and hot by the time I get home." Toying with the edges of Simone's top, she allowed her fingertips to graze warm skin and was met by another moan from her girlfriend._

"_Put me down, put me down." Simone breathed the words and struggled against her. Reluctantly, Santana pulled away from the wall just enough to allow her girlfriend room to stand up._

"_Christ, Tan. You can't start shit like that before you leave." Simone smacked her playfully on the shoulder before pushing past her and walking towards the kitchen bench and jumping up to sit on top of it. Following her, Santana tried to hide yet another smirk as she stood in the middle of the kitchen a couple of feet away._

"_I should be taking _you_ to dinner, baby." Simone motioned with her finger for Santana to come closer. _

_Raising her eyebrows in mock disbelief, Santana took a tentative step toward her. "I probably shouldn't get too close, you might attack me with your legs again."_

"_Ugh, just come here." Santana took another step and Simone reached out, grabbing her by the belt and pulling her in close._

"_Well why don't you get dinner and I'll get dessert?" Santana tried to keep any hint of flirtation from her voice and made a point of not leaning into Simone's body as she stood between her legs._

"_Oh, you'll _definitely_ be getting dessert…"_

* * *

The 20th of any month was a tough day for Santana and, at the best of times she struggled upon noticing the clock strike 1:33pm. Cursing herself for glancing at her watch and realising those two occurrences had aligned, for the first time in a long time, she felt her chest tighten and her breathing quicken.

Quinn reached out and gently gripped Santana's wrist, pushing it down towards the ground before carefully removing the gun from her grasp. Santana looked her in the eyes, but said nothing. She had no idea what to say. As her colleagues rushed around her, checking weapons and loading the vehicles, Santana looked on, motionless. She felt as though she were underwater, her movements and reactions not as quick as those running around the edge of the pool, their images blurred slightly as she looked up towards them from underneath. She was overwhelmed and while that emotion was certainly understandable, it was better suited to a quiet room, well away from weaponry and an impending raid.

"Push your tongue up to the roof of your mouth, just behind your top teeth and leave it pressed there while you keep breathing deeply through your nose. Use your diaphragm and push your stomach _out_ on the inward breath and _in_ on the outward." Quinn checked Santana's gun, keeping her voice low as she spoke to her. She pressed the magazine release, allowing it to slide onto her palm before using the heel of her hand to push it back into position.

"That's it, keep going. Really push your stomach out when you breathe into it. Try not to lift your shoulders because your chest is working overtime right now. Good. You're fine. It's working." Santana found her voice incredibly soothing as she calmly sing-songed her instructions; a gentle, encouraging smile on her face.

The angle of Quinn's body beside the vehicle ensured the rest of the SR crew were oblivious to Santana's shaking hands and the intervention which had just taken place. She knew that Lauren and Holly would pull the plug on her involvement if they saw she wasn't in control.

Santana also knew that for a major operation like this the preparation time was usually ten minutes from start to finish. Extra weaponry, basic checks of all CommSy's and vehicle electronics. It was standard procedure for entering a hostile situation but, right now, ten minutes seemed to be taking days.

She flinched as she felt Quinn repositioning her gun in the holster on her thigh, looking down at steady hands fastening the leather strap over the back of the grip. Lifting the flap on the magazine holder on the front of Santana's holster, Quinn checked for a full round before closing it and doing the same with the two on left side of her vest.

Mike, Lauren and Blaine were already inside the vehicle and Santana took a final breath, smiling gratefully at Quinn as she held the back door open for her. As Santana's foot made contact with the mat on the floor of the vehicle, a booming voice rang out from the opposite side of the garage, echoing off the walls of the open space.

"Which one of you is Holliday?" Santana jerked her head to the left in time with each of her colleagues and heard Quinn gasp beside her as both Lauren and Mike whispered words which sounded a lot like '_fuck'_.

Peering through the vehicle's back windscreen, Santana reached a hand down towards her holster, circling her fingers around the grip of her weapon; her thumb positioned to flick open the fastening.

"That's the Grand Hernand-I." Quinn's voice was barely a whisper against Santana's ear and in the silence which had fallen around them she heard the woman flick the fastening on her own holster and remove her own gun. Santana had gathered that this was Ernesto Hernandez. Having only seen old mug shots of the man he appeared to have aged significantly, now bald headed and with a perfectly manicured greying goatee, he looked nothing like the photographs from almost two decades ago when he had first been incarcerated.

With all the unshakable confidence Santana had come to understand as the very essence of her boss, Holly stepped out of the driver's side of the other SRV and walked to stand directly opposite the man, keeping several feet between them. Right hand raised she reached across her body to her thigh with her left hand and undid her holster, tossing it and the weapon aside. Wordlessly, she then removed her jacket and slowly slid her body holster down her arms, before throwing it to join the other.

"I'm Holly Holliday, Mr Hernandez. How may I help you?" Holly spoke evenly as she stood, hands by her sides, looking directly at the foreboding figure of one the city's most elusive criminals.

"I've got a big _fucking_ problem and I think it's about to become yours to solve, lady." Santana thought the man's shirt sleeves would burst as he folded his brawny arms across his thick chest. He was relatively short, but Santana was certain that even somebody twice his height would be lucky to survive more than a few seconds if they found themselves in a headlock. "Your boy Martinez, he's been playing both sides, but he's fucked up big this time."

Holly faltered momentarily, her swift come back seemingly stuck in her throat.

"H-How long have you known about David?" Santana couldn't see Holly's face, but when Ernesto Hernandez smirked, revealing a gold capped tooth, she could only imagine the man was satisfied by Holly's, undoubtedly perplexed, reaction.

"I knew before you did, sweetheart. He was my boy long before he was yours, but what I'd like to fucking know is when that fucking stopped."

"I don't know ab-"

"I know you don't fucking know!" Every officer in the vicinity recoiled along with Holly at the aggression in his raised tone. "We've had more on you lot than you've had on us for _years _thanks to him," he sneered at her, "…but the bastard has my daughter, you know she's missing, right?"

Holly nodded her head slowly and Santana looked on, concerned that Holly may have been thrown off her game with the barrage of new information on an officer she'd held so much respect for.

"I do. David brought that information to us but, Mr Hernandez, we also have reason to believe he has at least one more person with him right now and this is something we are currently about to investigate. If our –"

"You know where Eva is?" Santana noticed a change in the man's posture and tone at the mention of his daughter and her heart thudded in her chest at the realisation that, despite his appearance, he was probably frantic inside in a similar way to what she was.

"We have a lead." Holly had been placed in an exceptionally difficult position.

"Don't fuck around Holliday, do you kno-"

In a bold move, Holly raised her hand, effectively stopping the man from continuing and, from the look in his eyes, Santana strongly suspected he'd not been shut down very often.

"_Mr_ Hernandez." Her polite address was unwavering , but his threatened stance relaxed marginally. "We both know who's fucked us around here and that's the last thing I plan on doing to you. Your daughter's safety, and the safety of the other woman are our chief concern, but you must understand there are procedures which need to be followed."

"Listen, fuck your procedures, I-"

Once again Holly raised a hand, this time with a frustrated huff and a shift of her weight to one foot, Santana sensing her exasperation.

"_Mr_ Hernandez, if you'll let me finish. Fucking my procedures is exactly what I intend to do here. Allow me a few moments to contact my superior and then we can find your daughter."

Bending down, she picked up both holsters by the straps and held them away from her body, obviously distancing herself from her weapons. Calling out to Shannon, she instructed her to take her spot, in every sense, as the most senior officer in the crew. As the first vehicle began to pull out, Holly turned back to the man who had, surprisingly, stood in silence while the Inspector's instructions were delivered.

"This way please."

Turning on her heal, right arm still outstretched, she motioned for Ernesto Hernandez to head upstairs before calling out to Blaine.

"Anderson, Sylvester and I'll be right behind you. You've done this before. Consult on all risks and," she lowered her voice slightly, but Santana could still hear them from inside the vehicle, "…make sure Q sticks with S-Lo the whole time. They're one officer today, make sure they're inseparable."

As Blaine clambered into the driver's seat and fumbled with his belt, Santana glanced warily to where Quinn sat on her right. Quinn offered her a tight lipped smile, but Santana was grateful for the small nod which accompanied it. An encouraging pat on her knee was the last of their unspoken agreement and despite the lump in her throat, Santana felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She knew the job well enough to be sure she'd be on point once the adrenaline began to kick in, but she also knew herself well enough, now, to be sure she'd need support. Knowing she wouldn't need to ask for it aloud was, in itself, the best support her crew could offer her.

* * *

_Surprisingly, Santana still managed to arrive at the station on time despite having had to touch up her makeup and redo her hair before leaving the apartment. Along with the additions to her uniform, Santana wore a smirk which was as much about her new role as it was about the way she'd wished Simone luck for her own big day._

_Striding down the corridor, several colleagues commented on her promotion and offered their support for a great first day. Her position meant that she was now responsible for a small team of officers and while she knew she deserved her promotion, she had concerns that some of those on her team may not cope well taking instructions from someone with whom they were equals only last week._

_Wiping a sweating palm down her trousers, Santana decided to make herself a coffee before meeting with her team. Somehow, the buzz and whir of the machine calmed her nerves somewhat and she found that having something in her hand at least gave her a reason not to fidget and, in her mind, appear incompetent._

_To her surprise, her initial meeting with the team of officers went well and there was only one colleague who appeared to be less than enthusiastic about the outline of their project. Santana knew that Julia had also applied for the position and was in two minds about whether to put in particular effort to clear the air between them or to wait it out. _

_While some of her previous workload had been distributed amongst other officers, Santana spent most of the morning trying to get through the growing pile of paperwork on her desk. At 12:30pm, when several of her colleagues took their lunch break, Santana decided to work through in the hope she might be able to make a surprise jaunt by the stadium in time to see Simone._

_At 1pm she received a text message from her girlfriend, accompanied by a picture of her in her purple and white uniform. Her wild mane of tight, black curls was now restrained in three thick braids. '_Hope you're kicking Julia's ass today. Time's changed, I'm up in 20, but I know I'll nail it with all that 'luck' you gave me this morning xx_'_

_Santana had to force the smug look from her face as she re-read the message.  
'_I'm kicking everyone's ass and expect to be suitably rewarded this evening. Good luck baby, I know you can do this!'_ She typed out her response before glancing at the clock on the opposite wall. She sighed, realising that even if she left straight away, traffic would prevent her from getting to the stadium on time. Reluctantly, she instead made her way downstairs and headed out across the street to pick up some lunch from her favourite café._

_Deciding to make the most of the pleasant weather, Santana found herself a bench in the park next to the station and was entertained watching a woman and a young boy trying to teach a puppy to play fetch. She made a mental note to bring an extra change of clothes to work in an effort to encourage herself to leave the station for lunch whenever possible and fit in a decent jog. Now having to work longer hours, she wanted to make the most of her time at home and an extra half hour in bed with Simone each morning would make the hassle of lunchtime exercise completely worth it._

_Heading back into the building, Santana scanned the photos of officers lining the hallway and found herself smiling, yet again, at the fact that her photo would be up there within the week; her chevrons on display. As she reached her desk and pulled out her chair ready to sit down, a sharp tap on the shoulder made her jump. Turning, she saw it was the chief and was surprised to see him away from his own desk, let alone talking to her._

"_Santana, I need to speak with you in my office."_

_Swallowing deeply, she pressed the home key on her phone which had been sitting on her desk while she took her break. The display showed three missed calls and the time was 1:33pm. She knew she wasn't late back from lunch but when the chief had used her first name, she walked slowly to his office, at the back of the room, sure she was about to be reprimanded for something._

* * *

Santana didn't pretend to understand how Artie and Susie had combined their expertise to garner a location on Martinez, but she wasn't going to question it.

The satellite image showed the property, was at the end of a cul-de-sac in a residential area a few minutes out of the city. Tapping into traffic cameras in the local area, Artie could confirm that Martinez's car had been driven to and from the property three times in the past 24 hours. All of their available intel suggested he was presently at the residence.

Holly had regs stationed all around neighbourhood area and when SR2 pulled up behind SR1, a wave of nausea threatened to overtake Santana once again. Panicked, she turned to face Quinn as Blaine stepped out of the vehicle and joined Lauren and Mike who were already unloading equipment from the back of the vehicle.

"Quinn, I don't th-"

"Hey stop." Quinn interrupted her gently, her hand resting reassuringly on her knee once more. "You don't get to do this. Brittany needs you to be on your game right now and, besides, you heard the talk back at the warehouse. You and I are one officer today and I feel _fine_."

Santana allowed herself a moment to relax, breathing out a short laugh at Quinn's attempt at a joke. She appreciated Quinn essentially taking a backseat, in what was the biggest SRS operation she'd seen yet, to ensure she was able to cope with the inevitable strain of the circumstances.

Stepping out of the vehicle, Lauren ran through the procedure once more. Santana had one ear trained on the conversation while straining her eyes to glance at the property on the edges of her peripheral vision. Receiving a sharp nudge in the ribs from Quinn, she turned her attention back to Lauren.

"…expecting at least three males to be inside the property. Martinez, Schuester and the son. We need to assume they are armed and follow procedure accordingly. Mike and I will go ahead first and place mini-cams on both sides of the house to see if we can get any visual confirmation before we all move in. Stay here and watch the monitors, SR1 will see the same footage displayed on theirs."

Both vehicles were parked away from any direct lines of sight from the house and Mike and Lauren made it the rest of the way on foot. After disappearing around the sides of the house, Lauren's cam vision displayed on their screen first, quickly followed by Mike's on the right hand side of the split.

"Shannon communicated with Blaine through the CommSy and Holly chimed in that she was en route with Sylvester. The Superintendent had given the go ahead for Ernesto Hernandez to accompany three crew members from Shift 3 to the scene as she felt that he could be of assistance to them if any bargaining was required. While Santana disagreed that a decidedly unpredictable civilian should be involved in any way, she strongly suspected that both Sylvester and Holly were also trying to avoid a major fallout with the Hernandez family on this of all days.

Lauren's footage was focussed on an open area of the house, providing vision of the kitchen and living room areas while Mike's focussed on a hallway which appeared to have three rooms coming off it. Apparently they had confirmed Schuester's presence. Apparently the son was there too. Apparently the door at the end of the hallway was the internal door to the garage. Santana concentrated on none of this because when Artie, still back at the warehouse, took control of the images on their screen he zoomed and sharpened and paused the footage on something she hadn't needed to see.

* * *

"_Santana. Take a seat for a moment please." The chief's voice was gentle and instead of moving back around behind his desk and sitting in his own chair, he leant on the front of his desk only inches away from her._

"_We've called your father in dear and he's coming in to meet you, there-"_

"_My father?" Santana interrupted, confused. "Why would you call my father? Have I done something wrong? What adult has their father called to their place of employment?" She asked these questions in quick succession but what she really wanted to know, what had unnerved her the most, was being called 'dear'. The only person who had ever called her that was her Abuella and that had been a very long time ago._

"_Santana, when you were on your break we received a call from Patricia Denison…"_

_Santana's eyes shot up in surprise and she leapt from her chair, charging out of the small office and running to her desk. Grabbing her phone from the top of a pile of papers she swiped her thumb along the unlock button and keyed in her passcode. All three missed calls were from Pat, and all three had occurred in quick succession shortly after she had left the station._

_Her heart was pounding in her chest and her head had been throbbing in time since the chief said her father was coming in. Pat had called her once before while Simone was competing to say she'd sprained her ankle and needed to be picked up because she was unable to drive. Santana wanted to believe this was another sprained ankle, but she knew it had to be something far more serious._

_Bringing the phone to her ear she played the first message and, upon hearing the tone of Pat's voice, her legs began to carry her towards the door._

"_Santana." The chief placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Your father will be here any moment…"_

"_Santana, it's Pat, there's been an accident and I you need to come and meet me at the hospital…"_

"_Santana! Santana, sweetie, there you are, come with me…"_

"_Santana?…."_

* * *

As Jesse St. James had exited the garage the internal door had shut slowly behind him. In the few seconds in between, they were able to get a visual on the inside of the large, open room and what they saw were two bodies positioned together on the floor. Brittany was on the far side, facing away from the camera while Eva, back up against Brittany's was facing toward it. While the footage blurred more as Artie tried to enlarge it further, it was obvious that Eva's face was a mess, her head at an awkward angle considering her position on the floor.

Santana tried to breathe deeply into her stomach as Quinn had explained back at the warehouse and, as plans were being discussed between Lauren, Shannon, Holly and Blaine, Quinn dragged Santana aside.

Raising her eyebrows, she looked at Santana with genuine concern and began talking her through the earlier strategy once again. "Tongue to the roof of your mouth. Press it up behind your teeth, that's it, hold it there. Now listen Santana. You _don't_ have to do this. Everyone will understand if it's too much. That, for me," Quinn motioned to the screen, in the back of the vehicle, a few feet away from them, "…that would have probably been too much."

Shaking her head, Santana managed to steady her breathing and focussed her attention on the house behind them in the distance.

"I wasn't there last time Quinn. I'm doing this today. Today this is my job." Adjusting the fastening on her Kevlar vest, Santana systematically checked that all the equipment on her person was positioned correctly to ensure she would not have to look down to locate something once at the house.

Quinn frowned, cocking her head to the side slightly before nodding. "Alright, let's do this. We're a team today, you and I, so stick by me, okay?"

Santana nodded. She had sufficiently managed to calm her erratic heart beat and steady her breathing. The pixelated image of the two women on the floor was boxed up and placed back into the far reaches of her mind just as Holly and Superintendent Sylvester pulled up behind their vehicle.

The plan had been mapped out. SR1 were to secure the back of the property while SR2 managed the front. Artie would relay any information about the goings on inside the house until they were able to get a visual for themselves. As she walked purposefully behind Quinn, Santana was conscious of the sound of her own boots making contact with the ground. Her vision was focused on the red brick of the house they were approaching and she could smell fuel and car exhaust wafting toward them from the nearby highway. Licking her drying lips, she inhaled deeply as they crossed the threshold, feet trampling over garden beds and mildewed grass.

With her back against the brickwork next to the roller door of the garage, she and Quinn both angled their weapons downward, pointing towards the base of the door. Opposite them, Blaine had his gun trained on the same spot, while both Lauren and Mike were preparing themselves to force entry through the front door. When SR1 were in position out the back of the house, the whispered tones of Shannon's voice came through the earpiece.

"Artie, count us in."

Santana could hear the Intelligence Officer draw in a deep breath. "Okay crew, we move on three. Ready. One, two, three…"

The end of his word was drowned out by the simultaneous yelling of Shannon and Lauren as the front and back doors were impacted. Santana cringed slightly, expecting to hear gunshots almost immediately, but all she could hear was banging and loud, muffled voices.

Concentrating, she tried to listen for any movement in the garage, but heard nothing.

"I've got Schuester."

Mike's voice rang through her earpiece and Quinn turned her head briefly to nod at her. "One down."

"Bathroom, clear."

"Laundry, clear."

"We've got St. James!" Shannon exclaimed the words sounding slightly out of breath and Santana squinted, strained against the other sounds around her, as she tried to concentrate all her energy on the garage once again.

Brittany was on the other side of that roller door.

"Bedroom 1, clear."

Brittany was lying on the cold hard cement of a garage and Santana had to force her legs to stay still despite every nerve and muscle twitching to race inside.

"Bedroom 2, clear."

"We've got the girls!" Karofsky's voice was now the one to invade her senses and she'd never been so grateful to hear it, releasing a heavy sigh.

"No sign of Martinez. I repeat, no sign of Martinez." Holly's voice was an octave higher than usual as she exited the house, running down the fence line towards the back.

As Finn instructed Artie to inform the Paramedics it was safe to enter, Santana noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Quinn must have spotted it too, speaking as Santana turned her body towards the distraction.

Santana flinched as the metal roller door beside her creaked and whirred, opening at a painfully slow rate. She saw three Paramedics running towards the house, medical bags and plastic spinal boards in hand.

"Christ, it's him." Quinn spoke to Santana, averting her attention before pressing the button on her CommSy. "We've got a visual on Martinez, exiting the property via the easement on the north side."

With that, Quinn took off and was followed by Blaine.

Santana stood, feet rooted to the spot, completely torn about whether to follow Quinn or to go inside to Brittany. The garage door now half way open, the paramedics ducked under it, running in and kneeling beside the women. Santana couldn't see Brittany's face due to the way they were positioned, but she could see that her arms and legs were motionless.

Looking back along to where Blaine and Quinn were in pursuit of the man, she decided she could probably outrun them both, her body turning before she was able to give it her final instruction. Her muscles were grateful for the sudden exertion, powering her past the front of the house and up along the dirt easement. Gun holstered, she used her arms to drive her faster, her sights set on the athletic form of the officer they were trailing.

Pressing the button on her CommSy, Santana spoke in short sentences and instructed the crew that they would need cars to intercept him before he reached the overpass near the highway. Passing Blaine and catching up to Quinn, the two were now only a few feet away from Martinez. Both kept running, virtually in time with each other and when they spotted an SRV swerving to a stop at the far end of the dirt track, both withdrew their weapons.

"Get the fuck down now!" Quinn bellowed her instructions to the man a split second before he looked up to see two officers from Shift 3 approaching him, from quite a distance, from the other direction. Stopping in his tracks he turned slowly, his own gun still held firmly in his grasp.

Santana knew that, now she was stationery, a quick shot aimed at the man's head would see him dead on the ground in a matter of seconds. The smirk on his face told her he deserved it. She raised her gun. The image of Brittany lying motionless in the garage told her he deserved it. She felt the indents of the metal pressing against her palm and smoothed the pad of her index finger over the trigger. He deserved it.

"I said get down, NOW!" Quinn's voice cut through the silence again and Santana looked past Martinez to see the Shift 3 officers closing the distance, weapons raised at the ready.

He was trapped. Santana knew he wouldn't be able to escape this. She also knew that a shot to the head would be what he wanted right now. In her mind she was aware that the reality of the time Martinez would survive in prison would be relatively short, but the pain he would endure in that time would make it worth sparing his life right now.

"On your _fucking_ knees!" Santana took two long strides forward as she yelled the words at him. She felt as though her throat had been ripped apart and swallowed deeply against the sound of her own voice spitting with a rage she had only ever felt towards one other human being.

"Santana." There was a warning tone to Quinn's voice now, a soothing reminder that there was a procedure to follow and a stark change from the tone she had used to speak to Martinez.

Slowly, Martinez lowered himself down onto one knee, gun still raised.

"Put the gun down slowly." Quinn's tone was still powerful, but she was no longer yelling her instructions to the man.

Santana took another step forward. Martinez brought his other knee to the ground. She and Quinn were both still aiming their guns in his direction, the officer on the ground still refusing to lower his.

"You heard her," Santana spat the words at him, every syllable consumed by a loathing she'd not tasted for three years, "…lower your weapon, David."

His eyes flashed, meeting hers directly for the first time. It was as if hearing his own name had triggered something in him and, for the first time, he responded.

"This is your fault." His words were cold and Santana felt sick to her stomach at the sound of that voice. "I've been looking for that bitch for years. You just had to fucking interfere." Santana tried to hide the way she winced instinctively upon hearing him talk about Brittany. She wanted to bite back. She wanted to pull the trigger which no longer felt cold against her finger.

He kept his gun aimed steadily at Santana. A smug grin replaced the look of resentment from moments before and she knew, in that moment, that he was going to shoot her. He would be acutely aware that one shot from his gun would see three bullets in him instantly. Shooting her would give him the out he so desperately needed. Looking at the determination in his stare, Santana braced herself for the inevitable.

"Lower, your weapon." Quinn spoke more cautiously now, her words coming out slowly as though he might be hard of hearing. The Shift 3 officers were now standing only a few feet away, still, with their guns aimed directly at Martinez. Above them, in the distance, Santana could see three of her colleagues on the overpass.

She looked the man in the eyes, if he was going to shoot her she wanted him to know her face and have the vivid image of her burnt in his mind before he fell to the ground. Ever so slightly, she noticed the man's expression change, his line of sight faltered, looking past her, but she wasn't in any position to turn her head. She didn't dare take her eyes off him, but in her periphery she noticed the Shift 3 officers stepping closer.

"The lady told you to put your gun down motherfucker!" A chill ran down Santana's spine at the unexpected sound of Ernesto Hernandez speaking directly to Martinez.

* * *

"_Santana? Santana sweetie? What was that? Who was on the phone?" Her father's voice was full of concern but she could barely hear him over the sound of Pat's voice in her mind._

There's been an accident. There's been an accident. There's been an accident.

"_Pat. There's been an accident. I need to meet her at the hospital." There was no expression in her voice, the sound barely audible to the Chief who was standing only a foot away from her father._

"_Let's go there now sweetie. I'm going to take you to see her." Her father's voice was gentle and as he spoke he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began leading her towards the exit._

_When she thought about it later, Santana couldn't remember being led out of the station. She could not recall being put in the passenger seat in her father's car and the seat belt being plugged in for her. The drive to the hospital was 10 minutes from the station and not one minute of this drive was accessible in her memory after the event._

_After her father helped her from the car, her mother rushed to embrace them and Santana looked at her face as she pulled away from the hug and could tell that she'd been crying._

"_There's been an accident." Santana felt numb as she relayed the message to her mother who nodded in response, visibly biting down on her lower lip to stop herself from crying._

"_I know baby. I know. Let's go up and see her." The pounding inside Santana's head was exacerbated by her mother's obvious emotion as she spoke those words._

_Her parents stood either side of her, both a good head taller, both with an arm across her shoulder. As soon as the sliding doors opened, the stench of bleach and horrendous hospital food combined, flooding Santana's senses. They walked straight past the reception counter and along the corridor which joined the main hospital building to Emergency. The sign pointed in the same direction they were walking and Santana's steps grew heavier._

"_Does she know? Has anybody her?" Her mother breathed the words over her head and she felt her father grip her shoulder tighter, pulling her closer. She knew she hadn't been meant to hear her mother's question. She could only assume her father shook his head in response as not a whispered breath was returned over her head. _

_They stopped short of the heavy plastic doors and Santana's mother turned her, lowering her onto a plastic seat. Her father crouched before her, placing his hands on her knees and her mother sat next to her, body turned completely to face her daughter._

"_Santana sweetie," it was her father who spoke after a long silence and, surprised to hear his voice, she looked up to see a tear rolling down her mother's cheek, "…remember that time Simone sprained her ankle during a competition and when you picked her up you phoned me to see if you should bring her here?"_

_Santana nodded, and for a fleeting moment she was filed with hope. Sprained ankle. That's what he said. Remember when she sprained her ankle…_

"_Well this time sweetie," he shifted against her, kneeling against the linoleum floor, "…this time it's quite a bit worse."_

"_Just tell me." She spoke the words through gritted teeth, unable to look either of them in the eye._

"_Santana, Simone had quite a fall during her warm up and her landing was obstructed by another piece of equipment." He paused again and Santana wanted to lash out and hit him. She wanted to hurt him for dragging it out and hurt him for taking so long to tell her what she already knew._

"_Simone broke her neck when she fell, Santana, and she sustained a very serious head injury…" his voice fell away, failing him, and Santana felt the words he didn't say tear through her chest, both of her parents holding her and she cried out._

* * *

Narrowing his eyes, Martinez raised his gun higher, making a show of defying the instructions from Quinn and Hernandez. Santana saw his jaw tense as his eyes focussed back on her. Martinez rotated his hand slowly, maintaining a firm grip on his gun which was now on its side; his palm now facing the ground. His other hand mimicked this motion and Santana watched on with intrigue.

For a fleeting moment she was sure that he was going to lower the gun, hers now trained on it, expecting to see him bending forward preparing for hands and weapon to meet the ground.

"No."

Santana felt the bullet tear through her shoulder, the sound of the shot echoing around her and knocking her to the ground as three more were fired. Landing heavily she reached with her right hand and cried out in pain as she touched the wound, dark blood coating her hand instantly.

In an instant, Quinn was by her side, her frantic voice competing with that the accented English of the yelling Ernesto Hernandez and David Martinez exclaiming in shock.

"_Santana. Santana look at me_."

"Stay the fuck away!"

"_Santana? Is it just your shoulder_?"

"Don't come any closer!"

Forcing her eyes open, Santana found it hard to focus, pushing each new breath forcefully from her lips as she tried to ignore the seething pain. Hernandez was standing beside a doubled over David Martinez, gun barrel pressed against the side of his head.

"You were told to put that down!"

Finally complying, David Martinez tossed the gun aside and slowly raised his hands, cringing, and laced them behind his head. Santana noticed a hole in the front of Martinez's hoodie and realised that Quinn's bullet must have become lodged in well hidden Kevlar vest. She strongly suspected two more bullets had hit him in the back, jarring him when the Shift 3 officer's fired.

Silence fell all around them, Santana even attempted to make her breathing shallower to lessen its sound. She knew that the rest of the SR crew would likely be watching and was surprised when, of all people, it was Karofsky who spoke.

"We've got him now, Ernesto. There's no way for him to escape from this. Lower your weapon now and you walk away from this."

Hernandez remained still, eyes and weapon still boring into the side of Martinez's skull. Santana winced as Quinn increased the pressure on her shoulder, pushing her own hand down harder against the wound to stem the bleeding.

When three shots went off in quick succession Quinn and Santana gripped one another, eyes closed tightly, the cries of agony from Martinez indicating that the shots were not directed at his head. Behind her, Santana heard the shuffling of feet and opened her eyes to see Hernandez toss the gun behind him and reach down to pull Martinez up, scruffing the front of his shirt, before throwing him back to the ground.

Santana couldn't tell where Martinez had been shot, but both he and Hernandez were covered in blood, Hernandez lacing his own hands behind his head now and lowering himself to the ground as several officers rushed around them.

Feeling Quinn shifting from beside her, Santana realised she was being moved onto a spinal board, Holly and two paramedics looking over the top of her. Swapping their sticky hands for thick gauze, Quinn gripped a handle and assisted the paramedics in getting Santana back down the dirt easement and onto a gurney before they loaded her into the back of the rig.

* * *

The ride to the hospital wasn't long but at some point, through stress, pain and pure exhaustion, Santana passed out. Quinn's face was the last one she saw, concern evident in her expression as a paramedic worked to asses her wound in transit. This was also the first face she saw when she came around at the hospital sometime after having had surgery to remove the bullet.

"Hey. You've been patched up and apparently you'll have full use of your shoulder after some physio. No signs of any nerve damage which is good news."

Santana could only manage a groggy smile in response.

"I also called Tina and Mercedes, they're on their way and they've called your parents."

"Thanks Quinn." Santana's voice was hoarse and her throat incredibly dry as she fought to make sense of her surroundings.

The hospital. The shooting. The house.

"Brittany? What about Brittany." Her words were strangled as she tried to raise her voice, looking wide eyed at Quinn for an answer.

"Santana, Brittany had sustained several head injuries over the past couple of days and right now-"

"No, no, no, no…" Santana was on the verge of hyperventilating, her voice cracking as she sobbed hysterically. Quinn leaned over her to press the call button and tried to keep her steady, speaking calmly to her and willing her to try and regulate her breathing.

* * *

_Walking on shaky legs, flanked once again by her parents on either side, Santana made her way into the Emergency ward. Completely unprepared for what she would see, she imagined tubes and masks and those metal head braces which are drilled into people's skulls after 'accidents'._

_The instant she saw Simone tears began to stream down her face. Lying in the bed, propped up on pillows, Simone's dark skin seemed a shade paler. Her mass of black curls were spilling out from a large white bandage which was wrapped thickly around her head. Besides a neck brace, the only piece of intrusive hospital equipment appeared to be a clear tube which was connected to a machine beside her bed._

_As she moved closer, Santana felt her head begin to shake from side to side in disagreement with everything she was seeing before her. Eyes closed, her beautiful girl almost appeared peaceful. A small bruise on the side of her face was the only visible evidence of injury. Santana became conscious of the sound of something expanding and contracting at regular intervals and looked past Simone to the respirator which had taken on the job of breathing for her._

_Reaching out, Santana took hold of Simone's hand and squeezed it gently, searching her face for any sign of recognition in the familiar touch. When nothing was returned Santana glanced around at her mother and father, both looking every bit as pained as she felt inside._

"_What do we do now?" _

_Santana's father took a deep breath before responding. "We wait, sweetie. We wait."_

* * *

It took a significant amount of yelling on Quinn's part to get Santana to calm down while they waited for the nurse. Her softly, softly approach from earlier in the day was clearly not working and when Santana seemed either unwilling or unable to hear her, she yelled.

"Brittany's fine Santana! She's going to be fine! Pull yourself together!"

Shocked into awareness, Santana went through the motions and found herself hearing a much calmer Quinn Fabray's voice in her head. She pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth, just behind her teeth and used only her diaphragm to breathe.

"Well good thing this wasn't a fucking emergency, _you_ took your time." Still worked up, Quinn snapped at the unsuspecting nurse who had entered the room with a smile on her face.

"Well, dear, you pressed the call button, that means I'll come as soon as I can. Had you pressed the EMERGENCY button," she emphasised the word and pointed to the large red button by the door, "…then a big light would have started flashing outside the room and every available staff member would have rushed to deal with the EMERGENCY, but I see you have things under control."

"Actually," Quinn didn't need to apologise, her red face and sheepish tone doing the work for her, "…there is one thing you could help us with."

Santana's right hand clutched the portable IV stand as Quinn wheeled her out of the elevator next to the Intensive Care Unit. After explaining that Brittany had no immediate family, Quinn convinced the nurse to allow Santana entry into the, usually, highly restricted area.

Tina and Mercedes had arrived shortly before a wheelchair was brought into Santana's room and she tasked them with making contact with Sugar and Becky and getting the number for Brittany's Aunt Katie.

Quinn wasn't allowed past the large plastic doors of the ICU and the nurse wheeled Santana in, parking her at Brittany's bedside.

"You've got 15 minutes sweetie, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave. She should be up on the ward tomorrow, she's only down here as a precaution, okay."

Santana nodded, smiling at the woman and still feeling somewhat guilty that she had been the reason Quinn had been so aggressive with her. She pulled the curtain back around, leaving Santana alone with Brittany and with memories of Simone plaguing her, she was initially rather hesitant to look too closely.

On the surface she appeared quite worse for wear, cuts and bruising colouring her pale skin. On her head was a bandage, smaller than the one in the image in the back of Santana's mind, but still similar enough to make her stomach churn.

Reaching over, she tucked her right hand under Brittany's, threading their fingers together and holding her tight. She knew that, this time, things would be different. She understood that, ultimately, Brittany was going to be fine, but the regret and guilt of the past two days still weighed heavily in her mind.

She watched the rise and fall of Brittany's chest, thankful that she was able to breathe without external assistance. She found her own breathing had fallen in sync and she wondered if, when she visited her again the next morning, their inhaling and exhaling would still be occurring in time.

When she heard the nurse's shoes squeaking along the polished floor a few minutes later, she whispered the words she partly believed could have prevented all of this. Logically she understood that things had already been set in motion before she left in a hurry on Friday. She also knew that saying such words in the past had not allowed her to save someone, but she was also aware of how powerful those words could be.

"I love you."

She whispered the words so gently, willing them to reach Brittany slowly and linger there around her until she could see her again. They felt so natural rolling off her tongue, directed at the very person who had allowed her to believe in the notion once again. When the nurse dragged the curtain open, Santana tried to move her hand, but it seemed to be gripped by Brittany's. With still no movement or response evident in Brittany's features, Santana, pried her fingers away, carefully and reluctantly, as she whispered those words to her again.

"I love you babe. I'll see you in the morning."


End file.
